Secret Garden Book 3: Final Battle
by Jade-Max
Summary: Epic length series. Re-vamped version. War has come just days after the end of their honeymoon and Endymion and Serenity face their toughest challenges as darkness threatens to overtake their galaxy... M for violence and referenced adult situations
1. Chapter 1

**Secret Garden 3: Final Battle**

_Chapter 1_

Queen Serenity was standing in the royal gardens, her eyes on the heavens when the doors opened behind her. A frown creased her face, her forehead puckering ungracefully. "I thought I left explicit orders not to be disturbed!" Her voice was tight and strained, cracking across the yard.

"Mother." The hesitant voice floated over the garden.

The Queen spun. "Serenity?"

Princess Serenity ran towards her mother, arms outstretched as her royal gown flared and billowed about her in the low gravity as she wrapped her arms around her mother's waist. She hugged her tight, receiving a hug about the shoulders in return and a kiss on the forehead.

"Oh, my darling, welcome home. Let me look at you." Queen Serenity held her at arm's length. "You look so grown up and absolutely lovely!" The smile never left her face or her eyes as she looked around. "Where is Endymion?"

"He is putting our things in our room. He will join us shortly." Princess Serenity blushed slightly, no quite meeting her mother's gaze. Surely her mother knew what went on between man and wife, but she wasn't about to talk about it!

A knowing smile cross Queen Serenity's face - but also understanding - as she well remembered where her daughter's train of thought would be taking her. "Was your honeymoon everything you dreamed it would be, my dear?"

The blush that had blossomed on the Princess' cheeks deepened as she nodded. "More, mother, much, much more. Endymion was so patient with me - so caring! I knew he was before, but now..." Blue eyes filled with worry, her excitement turning to trepidation. "Mother, we are going to be going to war and I may lose him! I do not know what I would do." Her face twisted in anguish with the thought of losing her beloved husband before she closed her eyes briefly, taking a deep breath. "I would not be able to go on living without him, mother."

Queen Serenity hugged her again. "Do not dwell on such things, Serenity; they will simply eat at your insides. If you have to continue without him you will, it is that simple." The flash of pain in Queen Serenity's eyes was just as real as her daughter's. "I had to go on without your father and if you and Endymion are separated you will have to live without him."

Princess Serenity's eyes glimmered with tears. "I am not that strong, mother. I may very well loose him in the coming months and I do not have a daughter or son to care for should something happen to him."

Stroking her daughter's satin smooth cheek, Queen Serenity marveled at the change in the young woman before her. Her daughter had left a woman-child on the verge of adult hood and returned a woman, her core shining through with the radiance of happiness. "Soon, Serenity, you too will have a young one to care for." Her voice was so soft that Princess Serenity strained to hear the words, her eyes flying to her mother's.

"Do you know something I do not?"

Her mother's smile was kind. "We Moon folk have a habit of conceiving on the honeymoon, darling. You are most likely with child even now."

Jaw dropping in disbelief, she stared at her mother. "You cannot be serious - I am not ready to be a mother yet!"

The Queen hugged her daughter tightly. "You are more ready than you know, daughter. Time will tell if they bend or break you."

Nodding once, Princess Serenity looked up and changed the subject. The idea of being a parent was too new and foreign to even contemplate. "How go the preparations?"

"I will show you - Endymion can meet us in the war room."

Following her mother out of the royal garden, the doors closed behind them with a ring of finality.

--

The war room was an organized mess of silver screens, tactical charts and information runs that Princess Serenity couldn't yet decipher. It was circular, with a bending screen of liquid moon ore that could display any given point in the galaxy, or anything the Queen and battle commanders wished to see.

There were two guards posted on the communications station, one monitoring incoming information, the other handling the outgoing. She marveled at how efficient it was to have two people doing the job. Luna and Artemis were huddled together at one of the consoles, their human forms oddly out of place among the Lunarians on duty. Watching, completely fascinated, as her mother called up an open channel to the outposts where Uranus and Neptune were stationed, the real time communication slightly distorted by the distance.

The mature visages of the senshi filled the screen, Neptune and Uranus bowing their heads in deference to her. "My Queen." They spoke in unison, as they were in a habit of doing.

Queen Serenity inclined her head to them by way of greeting. "What news?" she asked without preamble.

The boyish senshi from Uranus reported first, as was typical. "The Dark Moon has amassed a large army of creatures, my Queen, some of them are unknown to us, and are believed to be from outside our borders. This is a diagram of them," the screen changed to show a black background with stars and lines connecting the stars. It made some kind of winged creature with a pointy mouth area, skinny front legs and massive hind legs.

The Queen frowned as she looked at the picture and Uranus continued. "This creature is said to be immensely powerful and the readings on our charts are off the scale for energy. From what little we are able to receive from the Dark Moon, these creatures are going to be the brunt of their fighting force. Uranus out."

Queen Serenity nodded once to the darkened screen. "I think it's time to renew old acquaintances," she murmured thoughtfully. "Neptune, what have you to report?"

The senshi of the sea smiled her calm smile. "Nothing nearly so drastic or unsettling my Queen." Her assurance was a balm after Uranus' tense briefing. "My readings from outside the system have fluxuated very little since I have been at my post. The only concern is that near the beginning of last month, a large energy surge shorted out from of the sensors near earth, but they were back online in a matter of moments. Since then the only strange readings I have had, have been occasional spikes of power from Earth's darker regions."

Princess Serenity gasped, grabbing her mother's arm. "Beryl. Mother, the Lady Beryl promised to ruin things, could she be the darkness in the prophecy?"

Queen Serenity turned to her daughter. "Perhaps, Angel..." they both looked to the door as it opened and Endymion stepped though. "My son," the Queen moved towards him and opened her arms in an unexpected gesture.

Endymion blinked once before smiling slightly, a mere curve of his lips, before taking the Queen into a gentle hug. Princess Serenity looked on from the side, her gaze locking on her husband's as he released her mother, approval written all over her face.

"You are looking well, Queen Serenity." Endymion's compliment was given as Princess Serenity walked over and slid her arm about his waist in a very un-royal like show of affection. He responded in kind by sliding his arm about her shoulders.

"Thank you." Queen Serenity turned her gaze back over her shoulder and then turned to face Neptune once more. The serene senshi had a tolerant smile on her face for the Prince and Princess in the background. "Continue Neptune."

"Thank you, m'queen. To make a long report short, nothing has been happening in the omega sector of the galaxy. Alpha Centuari, as you know from my partner's report, is brimming with action. I will keep you informed about Earth and the developments should there be any. Neptune out."

The screen blanked.

"What is this about my world?" Endymion asked his Angel softly.

"Neptune detected some kind of readings there," she shivered, which resulted in her being tucked closer into his body and on the inside of his cape - noting that his armor didn't seem to dig into her body as much anymore... or maybe she'd just gotten used to it. "I think it may be Beryl; I hope I am wrong."

Endymion gave her shoulders a squeeze. "I will protect you. Do not worry, my love, she will not harm you."

She put her head on his shoulder, her left hand creeping up his chest to rest over his heart, lightly on top of his armor. "I know, Endymion. I know."

Queen Serenity pulled the diagram Uranus had shown her and turned to the young couple. "Endymion, are you familiar with the millennium war that happened 5000 years ago?"

"I am. It was part of my history courses and, if I recall correctly, it was the last time - before the Earth was labeled forbidden territory – in which the Earth and the Moon worked together as allies."

"You would be correct. It was also the last time in the millennium that the Earth and Moon were joined together in a marriage match." Her smile took them both in. "This match will last where the other one failed. Theirs was torn asunder when the Moon and the Earth were split, each having a duty to their homelands, their children split between the two and unable to communicate. If you weather this coming war, that fate will never befall the two of you."

Serenity clenched her fist against Endymion's breastplate. "Mother, get to the point."

"My point, Serenity, dear, is that if Endymion knows of the war, he may know what these are."

Endymion glanced at the pictures and then froze, his body going rigid, "Is that what I believe it to be, Queen Serenity? A Griffin from beyond the borders? I thought they were only stories."

"The allies of the Terrans in the past, and now the allies of the Dark Moon Kingdom. I do not know what they were promised for their help, but I do believe it is time we spoke to the sun kingdom about getting involved in this conflict. The Sunicorns may be our one defense against the Griffins should they choose to invade or attack the Moon."

Endymion slowly shook his head. "The plot thickens. I do believe it is time that I spoke to my father and mother about this. Perhaps they can help find an alternative."

"Must you leave already? We just arrived!" Serenity looked up at him with pleading blue eyes. "Let me go with you, at least?"

He shook his head, his ebony hair falling into his eyes. She reached up unconsciously and brushed it back as he spoke. "No, Angel. Stay here and help your mother. I will be back within a week with news on our preparations back on earth."

"A week!" A stricken look crossed her face for a moment before she composed herself and nodded once - albeit reluctantly. "If you must, my darling, then you must. I will see you in a week." Slipping out from under his arm, she stretch up to place a gentle kiss on his lips before walking quickly out of the room to leave her mother and husband alone.

Endymion watched her leave, his brow furrowing.

"She does not like the thought of being separated from you, Endymion. Can you blame her after having your attentions to herself for an entire month? Give her time, she will adapt once again to everyday living."

"I know. It is how much time that will take that will be difficult. Pardon me, your majesty, but I believe I will go find my wife. If I am to leave her," he looked at her with a slight smile. "I would not want to do so on the wrong terms. Good day."

Queen Serenity grinned as he exited the room but it faded as she turned back to the screen with the Griffin's image glowing in stars. If only the brief separation of her daughter and her husband were the only worries. She sighed. Life was going to be interesting now that the Prince and Princess were back from their honeymoon.

Very interesting indeed.

--

Serenity opened the doors to her old room and looked about. Gone were the trappings that had made the room virginal and hers.

It was now decorated in black and red with silver and gold highlights. The bed was huge, taking up about an eighth of the available space and resting in the spot her bed had been before, directly under the window. Her dressing table was gone, replaced by a chest of drawers with a mirror and a basin of water on top of it. A white towel rested to the side of it and she looked at her reflection in the mirror, frowning slightly. She raised one hand and brushed her bangs away from the crescent moon in the middle of her forehead. Dropping her hand, she turned her back on the melancholy expression, and walked to the bed, crawling across it to lay her arms on the window sill and stare at the Earth. She sighed, feeling Endymion's concern for her vibrate through their link.

_I am alright, my love_, she said silently, trying to convey a sense of melancholy acceptance. The frown she could picture him wearing in her mind and the uncertainty she felt in his heart told her that he didn't believe her. There was no need to look at the door as she felt, more than heard, his approach to it. The sound of the handle moving was as soft as the pressure change as the door opened and then closed. His boots made no sound as they crossed the ankle deep carpet but she felt the bed give under his weight as he sat on the edge of the mattress.

"What is wrong, Angel?"

She refused to look at him, knowing that if she did she would be fighting tears. "You know what is wrong."

His sigh was soft as his hands slid gently over the small of her back and then around her waist, spanning it. The mattress gave as he moved towards her and settled next to her, one of his hands sliding up to gently trace the proud jut of her jaw. "I do not wish to leave you here, Serenity, but I need to go and see how the preparations for the war are coming back on Earth."

"And you are homesick." Still not looking at him, she could feel his eyes on her face, drinking in the details and storing them to memory. "Mayhap a painter should be called. A portrait would last longer."

Glancing at him then, she caught his smile as he shook his head. "You believe that a painter could catch your beauty and grace? Your spirit? You are mistaken, Angel. No one could ever catch your essence and no portrait would outlast the image of you that is burned into my heart, nor the love that is engraved in my soul."

Her cheeks lit with a soft rose color. "Nor mine for you." Turning at last, she looked deeply into his eyes. "It does not make being parted from you any easier."

Tears welled in her eyes and he gently framed her face with his hands, rubbing his thumbs underneath her eyes. "And you think it is for me? You are my soul Serenity; do not cry when we part, for I am not really gone. My eyes will miss looking at you, my hands will miss touching you, but my soul - my heart - is joined to yours." He dropped one hand to grasp hers and gently laid her fingers against his heart. "Do not forget that, even though we may be separated physically."

"I cannot forget it, but," she smiled through her tears, running her hand up to caress the base of his throat. "It does not make the physical parting any easier."

He laughed. "No, it does not. Come here." He tugged on her face and saw her eyes flutter closed just before closing his own and capturing her mouth in a lingering kiss. Tasting the salt of her sorrow, he looked at her as she bit her lip and pulled back.

Lifting one hand to scrub at her streaked cheeks, he stopped her and gently wiped them dry. "I will be back before the week is done, Angel. I do not wish to leave you, but we need to grasp this quickly. Something tells me that Diamond and Beryl are behind this, and now that we are back, they will not wait long to strike."

Serenity took a deep shuddering breath and nodded, leaning forward to wrap her arms around his waist and lay her head on his chest. Sprawled at an unusual angle across the bed and his chest, she didn't seem to mind as his arms slid around her shoulder and into the silken tangle of her hair. He carefully removed the golden strands from the buns and spread it across her back with gentle, soothing strokes. She closed her eyes and purred as his hands worked their magic, barely aware as he pulled her with him, onto his chest, as he lay back. He shifted her into a comfortable looking position and she curled into him.

"Can we just let the Moon and the Earth take care of themselves for a little while longer?" Lethargy permeated her tone, making it husky - as if she was on the verge of falling asleep.

"How much longer would you like?"

"One more day, that is all I ask." She yawned, snuggling her head against the cool metal of his breast plate.

"And tomorrow?"

"Let tomorrow take care of itself. Tonight I want to sleep one last time in your arms."

His grip on her tightened fractionally and he lifted her off him, sliding out of bed before bending down to whisper to her softly."Once I remove my armor, Angel, you can stay in my arms as long as you like."

She opened one eye to look at him and opened her arms. "Forever and longer. Come here,"

Shedding his armor, the metal landed without a sound in the plush carpet before he crawled back onto the bed and pulled her into his arms again. Tucking her into the shelter of his body while planting a soft kiss on the top of her head, he held her close. "Sleep, Serenity, I will be here when you wake."

"Promise?"

"I swear."

She snuggled her head under his chin and sighed, her legs sliding against his through the fabric of her dress as she pressed closer. With a long, content sigh, she drifted off to sleep.

Holding her tenderly, Endymion ran his strong hands through her hair, careful not to catch and pull it so not to wake her. He stared at the blue-green orb hanging in the sky through the window; he did miss home, she was right about that, but he would miss her more than he missed the Earth. Perhaps there was some way he could bring her with him... A faint smile crossed his lips as he dismissed the thought and just focused his attention on holding his beloved - his wife.

Tomorrow he would make arrangements to go home for a couple of days. He closed his eyes... tomorrow...

--

Gentle hands skimmed over his chest, the slim fingers lazily tracing a path from the base of his neck to his navel and back. He rolled towards the touch, reaching out to capture the fingers quickly in his own and then brought them to his mouth, placing a soft kiss on each tip. He opened his eyes to see Serenity's eyes widen as he nipped at one of her finger tips. "Good morning."

"I think it is night."

He could feel the heat begin to spiral through her as her words hitched and smiled. "Probably. We missed dinner?"

She nodded, her eyes glued to his mouth. He licked the tips of her fingers between his words, sending shivers of electricity through her system, down her spine, to coil low in her belly. After nearly a month of treatments and teasing designed to arouse her, the technique quickly achieved its desired effect and she began to shiver.

Endymion pulled her closer into his body, aligning them heart to heart as his head bent to hers. Her foot slid up his calf muscle, curling around back and gripping the fabric of his pants in surprisingly dexterous toes. Their lips met and melded as his hands slid down to her shoulders and he rolled on top of her, never breaking the kiss, and deepening it instead, teasing her lips, the roof of her mouth and the line of her teeth with elusive darts of his tongue. She moaned, gripping the back of his head and curling her fingers into his hair as his whole length pressed her into the soft mattress.

Breaking the kiss, he nuzzled her neck. "I should have been gone by now," his voice was muffled by her skin as he nipped at her throat.

"I-" she gasped as he bit her gently, her neck arching. "I know," she stammered.

Smiling, he nipped her neck again and elicited another moan and catch of breath. "I love how sensitive you are to my kisses," he told her softly, breathing into her ear as he nibbled his way up and finally traced the shell of her ear with his tongue. He pulled away to look at her face, absorbing her features with eyes the color of night, a tender smile on his lips. One of his hands pushed the gentle honey colored strands out of her face and she slowly opened her eyes to look at him.

"What are you looking at?"

"Only the most gorgeous creature in the heavens. I have to keep telling myself you are real, Serenity, for fear that I will open my eyes one day to find all this a dream."

"Never. You and I are one, my love." She grasped his face between both of her hands and looked deeply into his eyes. "Joined, heart, mind, soul and body; Nothing, not even death, can part us. You are inside me in every possible way, Endymion, and you will never leave."

"I know, Angel, but it does not stop my fears that this may someday end. I do not wish to lose this happiness, this peace, with you - though I know war will soon be upon us."

Serenity gently brushed his bangs out of his eyes. "Think of me, Endymion, and you will find all the peace - all the love - to see you through any situation. Think of me, and I will carry you through."

He silenced her with a kiss, his feelings and emotions welling through their bond and telling her without words that no matter what came, they would always have each other.


	2. Chapter 2

_Chapter 2_

Endymion stepped off the transporter pad, his knees locking as Earth's gravity took a hold of him and pulled downwards with a familiar, welcome pull.

"Endymion!" Queen Mindaya stepped forward and stretched her arms out to embrace her son. "Welcome home, my son." She looked around expectantly."Where is Serenity?"

He embraced his mother and smiled. "Thank you, mother. Serenity sends her deepest regrets and most sincere congratulations. She did wish to come but she must learn what preparations have been made for defense on the Moon - just as I must learn of ours here. I bring her promise to come and visit with us sometime before the end of the month."

Queen Mindaya smiled. "And the congratulations?"

"It is my understanding that I have a new sibling. Were the reports mistaken?"

Mindaya blushed. "Of course not. Come, I will take you to your new brother."

"Brother?" He inquired as he offered her his arm.

The Queen accepted graciously, nodding. "Yes brother. Your father is quite proud to have two sons to carry on the family name." A worried look crossed her face and she bit her lip, "Your father had to go to the front lines to rally the troops as we are expecting an attack any day now. I fear for his safety."

Endymion grasped her hand to rest on his arm in the crook of his elbow and covered it with his free one, squeezing her fingers. "Father has lasted through many civil wars, mother. I am sure one more will not be the end of him. And if it is, he will go like the soldier he is. Do not fear mother, my brother will grow up knowing his father."

She looked up at him. "It is not your father I worry about the most, darling. I fear more for you than I do for him, as much as I care for the man. You are a married man, now, my son, and I fear you will be called on to give your life before your father is. I do not wish for your brother to grow up without your guidance."

Endymion squeezed her fingers again. "I do not wish to dwell on possible futures, mother. I know the dangers I will soon be facing. None terrify me as much as the thought of never seeing my beloved Serenity again, but I will be fighting to make the universe a place where our children can grow in peace; a place where my brother can grow up to be a man without worries such as war."

"All very noble," agreed his mother, "but loosing you will not be any easier knowing you are fighting for something you so believe in."

Endymion stopped at a door in the palace, allowing a servant to open it, before leading his mother through. He stepped into a nursery done in soft shades of blue, red, darker blacks and greens and his eyes fell on the huge cradle in the corner. His mother released him, going to the side of the crib and bending over it, her hair gleaming in the light as it fell over her shoulder.

His mother looked like a young maiden in that pose, looking all the world like a maiden with her first babe, the wonder and adoration plain on her face and he was struck by just how beautiful it made her - and wondered if Serenity would fare the same. He stepped forward as the illusion broke and the Queen straightened, a squirming bundle wrapped securely in her arms. Lifting one hand, he moved the blanket out of the way and his face froze in a mask of amazement as he looked down into the small, chubby face of his younger brother.

The infant sported a mop of black hair, dark skin and a pair of eyes that were almost black as they looked around quietly at Endymion and Mindaya. Endymion gently ran one finger over the back of the infant's closed hand, smiling as the tiny fingers curled around his.

"He is very handsome." Endymion murmured softly.

"Like his father and his brother." Mindaya answered back, smiling. "Endymion, this is your brother Damien."

"Damien. I like it." His gaze never drifted from the infant as he gently stroked the soft flesh of Damien's cheeks.

Mindaya eyed her eldest son. "Would you like to hold him, Endymion?"

"Would you let me?"

"You will be a father yourself some day, do you not wish to?"

"On the contrary."

She offered the bundle to him and Endymion gingerly accepted, mimicking her stance and gently cradling Damien in his arms. "He is so small..." His eyes darkened and he finally voiced a concern of his. "Mother, what if Serenity is already with child? We... I failed to take precautions..."

Mindaya gently placed her hand on his arm. "Then you will deal with it as it comes, Endymion. We can discuss your family and your wife later. Now we must discuss the plans for defending earth from the upcoming war." She lifted Damien from his arms and replaced him in the cradle, her smile gentle. "Come, Endymion, I will show you our preparations."

--

Studying the topographic map, Endymion traced the lines as his brow creased. "Are you certain this is where they will strike? You have no doubts?"

"Yes, my Prince." Kunzite tapped his fingers to the one spot on the map. "Your father is setting up a trap for the invaders here, our contingent will be here," he pointed to a spot a few feet away from the hot zone. "By your father's orders we will be stationed at the Western most borders for the attack on their main Terran base."

"We are certain that their base is here? We know they are based from Earth now?"

"Yes, Endymion," Zoisite responded. "We are certain their base is here," he pointed to the same spot on the map. "If we remove their base of operations they will never be able to coordinate."

"And if they escape the bold plan of attack, or counter strike?"

"Then we will deal with them as we must, my Prince. Will Serenity and the Lunarians back us in this venture?" Jadeite was studying a list of names of volunteers and enlisted soldiers.

Endymion nodded. "They will. Is there any chance of this army and their leaders striking at her and the Moon?"

"None that we foresee your highness." Kunzite replied firmly.

Endymion felt his palms sweat at their cold assurances. His friends didn't believe there would be a threat to his wife and her mother yet he couldn't help but feel otherwise as he clenched his fists. "Well, plan for something. I do not wish to return home from the front lines to find that my wife has been taken captive."

"They will not strike the moon while we attack their main base, your highness." Nephrite finally spoke up, his voice calm. "They do not have the resources to spread their forces so thin."

"And if we underestimate their power and return to find the Moon in shambles? My friends, I am afraid that you are not taking this seriously. I fear that these enemies we are facing are more powerful, more cunning than you give them credit for."

He slammed his palm down on the table in front of him, looking at each of his Generals in turn. "Beryl and Diamond have made threats to both Serenity and I, and those threats involve removing either me from her life, or stealing her from mine. If none but I take this threat seriously, then I will station myself at her side for the duration of the war and I will not leave. Each of you know that she is my reason for living - should anything happen to her..." he trailed off, his gaze meeting each of the General's solemn looks.

"Perhaps it is for the best, your highness. We can handle the fight with the fortress, and the Lunarians can protect you and the Princess." Kunzite studied him carefully. "Unless you would rather we four go with you."

Endymion shook his head. "No, Serenity will be safe with me and her guards. When the fortress raid is complete meet me on the Moon in preparation for the assault on the Dark Moon." He nodded to each of them and then turned and left the room, leaving them to plan their raid.

His boot heels clicked on the polished floors as he purposefully made his way towards the throne room to speak with his mother about the change in plans.

Queen Mindaya's voice was raised and distorted as he approached, the tone betraying something akin to anger with an underlying fear. His pace quickened as he heard a loud, reverberating crash, and he broke into a run, tearing the main doors open and flying into the throne room, his hand on the hilt of his sword as his mother's scream filled the corridors. He stopped, wide eyed, at the scene that greeted him.

Queen Mindaya was laid on the floor, unconscious - perhaps dead - a score of warriors in colors he didn't recognize, mostly blacks and dark greens, in various positions about the room. His gaze narrowed on a woman standing near the Queen, a bundle of black and red cloth in her arms, a small cradle lying broken and shattered on the floor at her feet. Endymion drew his sword and advanced slowly on the woman, paying little heed to the warriors about the room, his eyes on the bundle she held.

Damien.

The woman looked up, smiling, carefully shifting the bundle in her grasp to give Endymion a clear view of his little brother. "Halt, Prince, or I will make sure your brother does not see his first birthday." Her eyes were red, a black cloud surrounding her body, and she was dressed in head to toe in black, her face covered by black paint.

Endymion felt his blood run cold hearing the threat to the newborn. "Who are you that would threaten an innocent?" Dropping his sword from the aggressive stance, he maintaining his hold on it as the tip touched the floor - he wasn't about to give up a weapon he might need.

"I am the angel who will save your brother from your fate. I take no pleasure in having to steal him from his home in his first months of life, Prince Endymion, but this is necessary if you wish for your brother to live a normal and peace filled existence. I take no pleasure in this."

"Who are you?"

The woman turned, revealing a shock of hair that blended in with her black outfit almost perfectly, only the green highlights in her hair distinguishing it.

"I am time. And in time, you will understand. I must go, do not fear for his safety, Prince Endymion; your brother will remain unharmed and will be returned to you should you win this war with the Black moon and the Lady Beryl." Stopping, she looked back over her shoulder at him as a black portal opened in front of her and her soldiers began filing through. "Your mother is not dead, Prince, tend to her. A word of caution; the Lady Beryl will stop at nothing to have you - just as the Prince Diamond will stop at nothing to have Serenity. Guard her well, your highness, for all of our hopes and dreams live or die with her. Farewell."

Endymion watched as the mysterious lady stepped through the portal and was gone.

Moving swiftly to his mother's side, his mind turned over what the woman had said as he gently rolled the Queen onto her back and took her pulse. Strong. He breathed a sigh of relief and gently lifted her, carrying her out of the room, not noticing the figures of the guards who seemed frozen in their positions, unable to move, throughout the throne room.

He carried the Queen to her chambers and laid her gently down on the bed before stepping back. _How can I leave her knowing what I do about Damien and the strange woman?_ He struggled with the question quietly, watching the even rise and fall of his mother's shallow breathing. _And yet how can I stay? Damien is in good hands - the woman, despite her threat, will keep him safe; of that I have no doubt, but who will keep my Serenity safe if I do not?_

Shaking his head in frustration, he clenched his fist. _Serenity, I miss you, darling - and I have been gone less than a day! I know more about our preparations than I could learn in a week, and now this. I want to be with you, Angel, but can I leave my mother before Damien is returned to her?_

Endymion closed his eyes, searching for the familiar energy within him and bringing it out completely, feeling Serenity's love engulfing him, soothing his turbulent emotions and allowing him to think clearly. _Angel, you know my feelings on this, you know my thoughts._ Her feelings and opinions drifted back to him, engulfing him, a sense of impending doom almost overshadowing everything. _You want me to stay?_ He thought to her shocked, feeling her agreement. _Why?_

He swayed on his feet, seeing the images of her mind forming in his. He saw the Earth burning, the castle in ruins and the bodies of his family littering the entranceway - but he was missing from the picture. He swallowed hard, understanding her message. _Very well, my love, but I will be back with you before the week is out, as I have promised._

The thrill of pleasure and anticipation ran through her to him before he concentrated and their link faded to the gentle, constant light burning in his heart. Over their honeymoon they'd learned to tuck it away inside, and draw on it as needed or wanted and now he drew on her strength, opening his eyes to focus on the still unmoving form of his mother. With a sigh he retrieved a chair, settling into it to wait for his mother's revival. He has much to tell her before the plans to take the enemy fortress went through.

--

Serenity sighed softly as Endymion dimmed their connection and looked out the window at the earth. _So much to do,_ she thought silently, her eyes glazing over as she turned her thoughts inwards. _So little time to prepare for the coming destruction - can we really stop it? Can we really avoid it?_ She shook her head and looked back out the window, taking a long look at the colorful marble hanging in the black blanket of space before pushing herself off the huge bed and straightening her gown.

Head high, the Princess of the Moon exited her chambers and walked swiftly to the war room, not bothering to knock as she strode in and paused in the entry way. The screens were blank, the guards missing and Serenity blinked.

She must have come in on shift break.

Her eyes were drawn to a large map of the galaxy along with the unknown reaches, in three dimensions on a holo-projection table in the middle of the room and she approached it carefully, taking a seat. Raising one, slender hand, she gently traced the tiny Moon and the much larger Earth in the center of the hologram, her hand passing easily through it. Frowning slightly, her brow puckered as the area around the map near the Dark Moon wavered and blinked, a large cloud of something dark began to surround it and move slowly outwards towards the nearest planet of the Terran solar system - Pluto.

Serenity watched, mesmerized, as the dark swarm advanced on the smallest of Pluto's moons and engulfed the uninhabited rock. She gasped as it froze, seeming to hover around the moon before expanding in a sickening wave towards the main planet. Watching helplessly as it moved forward steadily and advanced on the barren, dark planet that was the home of one of the royal family's most trusted advisors. She blinked as the dark wave suddenly froze and seemed to hang around the rear of the planet, unable to continue forward. A brilliant light teaming with red and green energy burst forth from the planet and the wave retreated to the moon, seeming to diminish in strength.

Her brow puckered again as she watched, wondering what was on Pluto that defeated the black wave of destruction. The wave moved to the next planet in line, making her gasp only to be distracted as alarm bells began to ring throughout the palace. Serenity was already starting to get to her feet when the door burst open and four soldiers dressed in palace colors stormed in, the sounds of fighting in the castle ringing through the halls.

"Princess!" One of them yelled at her as they noticed her presence in the room. Three of them shut and barred the door as the fourth, the Captain of the guards, walked towards her and knelt. "Princess, the invaders have entered the palace and the Queen and her council are fighting in the throne room."

"Stand, this is no time to be proper." Serenity informed him. "How fares the rest of the defenses?"

"Your guardians believe you are in your chambers and have blockaded the doors and are fighting to keep a substantial force out. The leader is cloaked from head to toe and is demanding you to be surrendered to them or he will destroy the palace and every last one of us."

Serenity closed her eyes, drawing on her bond with Endymion for strength and reassurance. If she was captured, Endymion would know. If something happened to her, he would know - and he would come for her. She swallowed and looked up at the guard, putting as much steel into her tone as she could. "Escort me to the throne room."

"But... Princess, if they catch you..."

"I am able to defend myself, Captain, do as I say."

A loud crashing sound came from the other side of the door and Serenity could hear the shouting of her mother's guards as the Captain looked visibly torn between keeping her there to defend her and following what boiled down to a direct order from his Princess.

"Now, Captain; time grows short."

He sighed and motioned for the men with him to move away from the door and looked at her. "I am sworn to protect you Princess; you will not come to any harm in my care."

"I know, Captain. Now, hurry, we must get there before they harm my mother."

The guards formed up in a diamond around her, the Captain leading her through the halls, the other three guards around and behind, as they fought their way to the throne room. Two of the guards were killed as they approached the doors and the Captain engaged three of the men standing around, firing some kind of energy bolts into the melee below. Two of them were killed before the last realized they were being attacked from behind and the Captain put his sword through the last of the three's belly's, causing Serenity to advert her eyes as the man's guts spilled out in a red mess on the floor.

The Captain ushered Serenity into the throne room, the last guard watching their backs and Serenity froze in the shadows of the entranceway.

The throne room was in chaos.

Small pockets of castle guards were fighting against men in full body cloaks and visibly outmatched. At least, Serenity thought they were men - their robes were shapeless and it was hard to tell. Her eyes moved past the forms of the dead and dying, the red blood pooling on the floor and four pillars that had been smashed and lay strewn about the floor. They passed over the forms of her aunt and the older guardians to her mother who was standing enclosed in their protective circle.

The five fought as a well trained unit as Queen Serenity directed their assault against the leader of the attackers. As the Princess watched the Queen was pinned in the shoulder with a bolt of energy and went spinning to the floor. Her scream lodged in her throat as the guards smashed into the wall surrounding her mother and the elder senshi. Her mother didn't rise and she could see the blood beginning to pool around the feet of the elder senshi, her mother's white gown visible through their legs. She swallowed hard as the senshi were blasted by some kind of energy wave from the leader. One of the senshi, the blue haired genius from Mercury, crumpled under the assault, taking an energy bolt in the chest at the same time. The other three quickly filled in the gap and were slowly wrapped in some kind of rope that crackled and drained until they could no longer stand.

The leader of the attackers finally spoke and the voice sent a shiver of fear and loathing down Serenity's spine.

"I am looking for the Princess. My guards have informed me that her room has been breached and she is not there - though the younger guardians continue to fight valiantly. Turn the Princess over to me and we shall not harm any of you further."

"Never." The pain soaked voice of Queen Serenity spoke up from the floor. She slowly pushed herself to her feet, blood pulsing from her wound as she clamped her hand over it, the brilliant red stain of her blood clearly visible on the white gown. "You cannot have my daughter Diamond. I would rather die than turn her over to you."

"That can be arranged, Queen Serenity." He replied coldly, pulling his hood off his head to reveal his handsome features twisted in a mask of cool rage. "I can tear your palace apart, stone by stone, until you surrender your daughter. If that does not work I will start by executing your subjects one at a time until you do so."

Queen Serenity shakily rose to stand at her full height in front of him. "Do what you will to me, Diamond, but I will not give you my daughter."

"A pity," he said calmly. He motioned to one of his guards to bring forth the Queen of Mercury who was unconscious, her chest sporting a black mark, her jewel holding her bow together almost completely obliterated.

Princess Serenity noted that other than being unconscious the elder woman was remarkably alive - that jewel had saved her life. The Mercurian was dragged in front of Diamond and he raised his sword to her throat, resting the keen edged blade on her shoulder. "Now, Queen Serenity, hand over your daughter or I will kill the Queen of Mercury."

"And start a war no Mercurian will ever forget, Diamond. You bluff; even you are not stupid enough to kill the ruler of a planet."

His gaze burned with an insanity that Queen Serenity had never seen before and it caused her to shiver. She had not thought him insane, but the need for him to possess her daughter sent chills down her spine. "I am capable of that and more, Queen Serenity. I will kill your advisors, one by one, until you hand over your daughter."

He waved his free hand and the other three, still bound, were brought before him. Forced to kneel and bend over, exposing their necks to his view, Diamond gazed steadily at Queen Serenity and moved to the Queen from Mars, placing his blade upon her neck, making her stiffen. "Do you care to test me on this, your majesty?"

"Do not give him the Princess, Serenity." Mars told the Queen weakly through the curtain of her hair. "Even if it costs us our lives."

"Silence!" Diamond roared

"We die, keeping her safe." Jupiter added. "Do not let him have her."

"I said _silence_!" He yelled again, lashing out and kicking Jupiter in the side. The Queen of Jupiter fell forward, but made no sound - she would not give him the satisfaction.

"We are old, Serenity. The girls will guard her well; do not mourn us, protect her and the girls."

"Silence!" Diamond roared, his sword flashing as he brought it down on the neck of the Queen from Venus.

Queen Serenity's scream of denial echoed in the stillness of the room as Mianna's head dropped from her shoulders and rolled along the floor, her brilliant golden hair turning a burnished orange as blood poured from the ragged wound that was her neck, soaking the strands and pooling in the stones of the floor.

As they watched, her form flickered, her uniform dissolving until she lay wrapped in a white gown, quickly turning red in the widening pool of blood. Her head lay, her eyes staring at the ceiling, a few feet from her body in a nest of blood soaked hair. Her face held a serene expression, as if being released from life was a blessing.

--

Princess Serenity hid in the shadows of the main doorway, her face white as she watched Diamond's sword rise in the air and swing down towards her aunt's neck. She closed her eyes, cowering in the doorway, unable to watch, the guard keeping her quiet and blocking her way to help. Turning her thoughts inwards on instinct, she searched for Endymion and quickly found their link...

--

Endymion went to his knees on the training field as the waves of anguish, fear and sorrow bowed him over, Serenity's call echoing in his mind. "_Endymion_!"

"Endymion!"

The shouts of the others training in the till yard went unnoticed.

"My Prince, are you alright?"

Their voices were faint in the background as his heart clenched with fear and understanding. The Moon had been attacked and Serenity was in mortal danger.

"Serenity," he whispered raggedly, holding his head and focusing on her energy; on her. He felt her despair, her fear as clearly as if it were his own, his stomach clenching and bile rising in the back of his throat as he smelled the tangy, metallic smell of blood, tasted it on his tongue and saw it through her eyes. Her fear was so viable he felt his skin go clammy and began to shake. He swallowed hard, reaching out mentally to caresses her soothingly through the bond, offering his assurances he would be on his way to her as fast as he could.

He caressed their bond with his heart, enfolding spectral arms around her and giving her his strength as he felt her terror. He saw the scene, saw the sword going for her aunt's throat and heard Diamond's demands for her. He felt his blood boil at the Dark Moon prince trying to take what was his. He fed his anger until his own fear swept into his heart, Serenity's plan of action coming to him in a quick series of images. _No!_ He shouted at her, terrified. _Serenity! Please! Darling, no! Do not do this, hold out... Serenity?_

"_Serenity_!!" He screamed her name, the sound torn from his throat as she cut their bond almost completely, her plan still fresh in his mind. He screamed her name again, his eyes focusing on the distant orb of the Moon in the sky, unconsciously reaching towards it - towards her. "_Serenity_!"

"Is something wrong my Prince?"

One of the guards voiced the question hesitantly, not understanding what they had just seen. They'd been trying to get his attention and suddenly he'd screamed the name of his wife with such agony it was as if she were dead. If nothing else, it was a little disconcerting.

Endymion fought to get to his feet and then turned on the guards ranged around him, his expression betraying a mixture of something akin to loss, rage and bewilderment. "We must leave. Now. I need to get to the Moon."

"But... Endymion, we cannot..." The soldier trailed off as Endymion rounded on him, his eye burning with rage and worry.

"I said we are leaving now. Not in ten minutes, not in an hour, not tomorrow. Now. My wife is in mortal danger and I intend to get there. _We leave now!_" He whirled and raced from the practice field heading for the main chambers and the quickest means of getting to his wife.

--

Serenity closed her eyes as the last of her mother's guards perishing in their attempt to protect her. The sound of the skull hitting the stones echoed along with her mother's anguished scream, resounding in her head. Tears streamed down her cheeks, her eyes stung and her heart bled - she couldn't allow more people to die for her. If her mother did not give in soon - or if Serenity herself did not do something - more people, maybe even her mother, would die.

The Captain had his hand firmly over her mouth so she couldn't scream and she clawed at his hand, indicating she wanted to talk to him. "Do not scream, your highness," he hissed, "or it will be both our lives."

She nodded and the pressure on her mouth eased. Regarding him with eyes that swam with tears, she spoke, her voice cracking. "I have to stop this. I cannot allow them to kill my mother even if it means surrendering to him, Captain." Diamond continued to threaten her mother even as she spoke urgently to the guard. "Daniel, please; I cannot bear to have their deaths or yours on my conscience, please..."

Daniel shook his head, his anguish clear in his brilliant green eyes. "I can't, Princess, I am sworn to protect you and your mother. By surrendering you to him, I would be betraying that oath."

"I know. But if you do not allow me to go, Diamond will kill my mother. Do not worry for me, Captain; you have been a good friend and companion since my earliest days, please trust me and trust my husband. Endymion will come for me. He will find me and he will deal with Diamond. Please Daniel," her voice cracked as she saw her mother being forced to kneel, the blade going to her throat as blood continued to ooze from the wound in her shoulder. "Let me go."

Daniel looked torn, seeing the Queen being readied for execution. His gaze sought hers again. "You promise to be careful? You swear your husband will come for you?"

"I swear it, Daniel. He will be here within the hour. Tell him..." she paused, tears continuing to stream down her face. "Tell him I love him and will be waiting for him to come and rescue me."

Daniel released her. Touching his shoulder in a sign of silent gratitude, Serenity whirled and burst from behind the pillar, running into the throne room.

"_STOP!_"

Her scream echoed through the room as Diamond began to lift his sword. The bodies of her mother's court lay in a row to the side, their heads lying a few feet from their necks. Serenity averted her gaze, focusing on Diamond who had his sword behind his head, his gaze roaming over her figure covetously. Serenity felt her skin crawl and felt her nerve wavering but braced herself and awaited his words. Inhaling deeply, she forced herself to find the calm that had drawn her to this decision.

"Princess Serenity - a delight to see you my dear."

"Leave my mother alone, Diamond! I will go with you - peacefully - if you do not harm her or anyone else on the moon, further." Her voice was steady and amazingly calm.

"Serenity! No!" The Queen's voice cut through whatever Diamond would have said in reply. "Don't do this darling, please!"

Serenity's eyes found her mother's. "I must."

Diamond pushed the Queen away with a booted foot and grabbed the Princess, his grip bruising in its force and she knew she'd sport the imprint of his hand on her arm for days. His hiss was triumphant. "You are mine, Princess!"

The wildness in his eyes made her stomach clench, the fear making her nauseous. She began to shake and willed herself to stop. If nothing else, she would be brave. Somehow, she found a smile for her mother. "Get well, and take care of my friends."

Diamond increased the strength of his grip. "Hush, my dear - we will be going to our new home soon." His tone was pleasant, his grip at odds with it as he dragged her up to the top of the dais with the throne.

Queen Serenity watched helplessly as Diamond tugged her daughter away and then yelled at his forces and disappeared from view in a brilliant flash of light and smoke. "_Serenity_!" The Queen whispered in agony, her eyes on her daughter even though the flash and smoke hurt her eyes.

Her friends had died for nothing; Diamond had gotten his prize.

Hot tears spilled down her cheeks as she laid her face in her arms and wept.

--

Endymion arrived in the main chamber of the Moon Palace at a dead run, skidding to a halt as his mind finally registered the chaos and he swallowed hard seeing the shrouded bodies on the dais, Queen Serenity being tended to by Sailor Neptune, Sailor Saturn and Sailor Uranus. The boyish senshi looked up as he entered, her face a grim mask.

Four bodies were apart from the rest, the symbols of Jupiter, Mars, Mercury and Venus prominent on the shrouds. He advanced slowly and ascended the stairs of the dais as Saturn was pulling away from the Queen, a slightly purple glow fading from around her fingers.

"Queen Serenity." He knelt next to her, his hands pausing just shy of her shoulders as his cape dragged on the floor behind him. He looked into her eyes, seeing the anguish and pain she was going though clearly visible in the shimmering orbs. "Serenity - what happened to my wife?" He almost choked on the words.

While he could still feel Serenity's terror, her determination and love from a huge distance - his stomach hadn't unclenched and his hands still felt clammy. It didn't help that it had taken him almost a half hour to get to the Moon Palace from the Earth thanks to part of the teleporting system having been damaged and needing to be reconfigured. By the time he'd stepped into it and been transported from one spot to the other, the battle was already finished and the trail to his wife getting ever colder.

"Diamond stole her." Queen Serenity's voice was filled with anguish as she clasped one hand in a vise-like grip around his wrist. "He took my baby," she looked deep into his eyes and Endymion shivered.

The Queen was fighting madness - it was obvious - though she probably didn't know it.

"Get her back, Endymion, get her back, she can't resist him forever..." Endymion nodded but pulled back in alarm as the Queen of the Moon burst into silent tears, collapsing in on herself and weeping like a child stretched out on the floor.

"My Queen." Saturn's voice was soft as she laid a gentle hand on the Queen's shoulder and applied gentle pressure.

Queen Serenity sighed once before collapsing unconscious and Endymion looked at the diminutive senshi. Saturn shrugged, motioning for Uranus to pick up the Queen. "She needs her rest. Uranus and Neptune know the location of the main base of Diamond's forces, they have been watching it for the last while - only his attack came from a different angle. Take them with you, Prince, and they will help rescue our Princess."

Endymion nodded once, looking at the senshi. "If you would accompany me it would be greatly appreciated - but I know I will put no life above hers, not even my own."

Neptune laid a gentle hand on his arm as Uranus carried the Queen from the room, Saturn on her heels. Green eyes followed the boyish senshi and Endymion felt the strong bond between the two as if it were a tangible, touchable, entity. Not unlike the bond between he and Serenity. Neptune's sea green eyes finally met his and she smiled. "Uranus and I would have it no other way, Prince Endymion. No one - not even the senshi; especially the senshi - would put their own lives above those of our Queen and Princess."

"We will leave in an hour. Collect what you must, but it will be but the three of us." Endymion told her grimly, his hand gripping the hilt of his sword. "Diamond will not have her for long - I swear it on my life!"


	3. Chapter 3

_Chapter 3_

Diamond looked at the alabaster skin of the woman in front of him and shook his head. "Serenity, my love, you are too pale - did you not eat?"

Serenity didn't - couldn't - look at him. She'd heard him kill her aunt, seen him almost kill her mother and now he was trying to pretend he loved her, trying to be granted the privilege to touch her. The thought of having him touch her in any way made bile rise in her throat and her skin crawl - she swore she would die before she suffered it. Continuing to stare out the barred window of her room, she took no notice of the opulent surroundings.

A huge bed was the centre piece, covered in silks and satins so fine they rivaled those of the Moon's. A large armoire covered one wall, black and bleak, holding gowns of every color in just her size - or so Diamond had said but she hadn't bothered to look.

Serenity was seated next to the only window in the room, staring out across the blackness of space through rough bars. Her feet were curled protectively underneath her, taking up the whole, plush chair. In the day and a half since she'd become his prisoner, she had not moved from the spot, nor looked anywhere but the window.

There was but one door, and it led into Diamond's chambers, as she knew from when she'd been lead through it. Her body was starting to protest the lack of food and water, not to mention other facilities, but she would not take anything from the vile creature in front of her.

A rough hand grasped her face, squeezing her cheeks and causing her teeth to cut into them, drawing blood, as pressure was applied. She reared her head back, pulling her face from his grip and turned eyes full of fire on him. "If you touch me again, I will kill you," she swore softly before turning her gaze back to the window and leaning as far away from him as the chair would allow.

Diamond regarded her calmly, not at all impressed by her threat. "You are my prisoner, my lovely Serenity, and I swore to myself I would someday have you. If I have hurt you in any way I _am _sorry."

"Just liked you are sorry you killed my mother's court and my aunt, Diamond? Just like you are sorry you nearly killed my mother to get me? I do not believe you. If you had wanted to make amends you would have released me before now. If you truly loved me as you claim to you would want to see me happy!"

"I do want to see you happy, my love. Name anything, anything you want that is in my power to give and it is yours."

She flattened her lips into a firm line, refusing to answer him. Her heart was crying out but for one person and Diamond would never allow any mention of him - she'd learned that the hard way in her first minutes as his prisoner.

"Nothing, sweet Serenity? A new gown perhaps? Jewels to adorn your slender throat? Come my dear, there must be something that you wish."

"I want nothing from you, Diamond, except to be left alone."

Serenity cried out in surprised pain as her arms were roughly grabbed and she was dragged to her feet to stand in front of him - forced to look up at him.

"I cannot make you happy," he told her gently, his tone at odds with his bruising grip, "if you do not tell me how."

"Get your hands off me," she spat softly. "That will make me happy. Never touch me again and that will make me happy!"

Serenity shivered and tried to pull away as his hand caressed her cheek, feeling fear spiral deep into the pit of her stomach as his gaze traveled over her face.

"So beautiful..." he murmured, "You will be mine, Serenity, if not tonight, then tomorrow. I can wait, but I will not wait for long." His head swooped down and she tried to turn her face away but his grip tightened and his lips mashed down on hers, trapping her.

Serenity struggled, kicking at his shins and lashing out with her hands, striking him reputedly. Diamond didn't appear to notice her struggle and instead she sagged, falling out of his grasp and onto the floor, the sound of her gown tearing making her gasp. She looked about and then up, her eyes blazing with fury and raised one hand to deliberately wipe his kiss from her lips. "You have been warned, Diamond. I will kill you if you touch me again."

"Idle threats my dear; we both know you could not hurt a fly."

Serenity rose slowly to her feet, making sure to keep one hand on her gown, finally removing it when she was sure it wouldn't fall. "I have injured the Lady Beryl before and I can do the same for you, keep your hands off me, sir, if you wish to keep them intact."

Spinning away, she retook her seat at the window, one eye watching Diamond, but most of her concentration going to keeping her composure while he was in the room. She was dangerously close to tears, fear eating its way through her stomach and up her throat. It was only by the strength of her resolve that she was managing to keep her voice level with him. If he touched her again... she couldn't even think of what she would do - she'd probably dissolve into hysterics and kill him as she's threatened.

Diamond whirled away from her. "If you wish to live, my dear, I suggest you eat up. I would not poison my future bride, no matter what she does to incur my wrath. Think hard, Serenity, for no one will rescue you here. You have no allies and I will kill all who try to take you from me. Sleep well, Angel."

Whirling on him, her eyes again spitting fire, she spoke without thinking. "You have no right to call me Angel, Diamond - you are not Endymion!" His expression darkened, turning thunderous, but Serenity didn't heed the warning. _No one_ except Endymion had a right to call her Angel. "You may address me as Serenity, but if you think to use that pet name for me, think again!"

Diamond smiled darkly and slammed the door behind him, the click of the lock and the sound of the bar on the other side of it echoing through her room. Serenity turned her gaze back to the window, her eyes welling with tears as she gave into her anguish, and they silently streamed down her cheeks.

--

Endymion raised one hand to his lips for quiet as Neptune and Uranus followed him through the caves of the Dark Moon's main base. It was underground, just beyond the view of Pluto and hidden from the earth by the sun, on a piece of rock that was protected from the elements by some kind of shield.

Placing his soft soled boots carefully, he tested the ground for solid footholds as he crept forward. The three of them had been on the moon for just under two days and the Prince was pushing them relentlessly, exploring every cavern in the place and doing everything possible to keep them from detection. So far they had been lucky. They had not encountered any guards they couldn't slip past, but they were starting to notice more alert guards as they made their way quietly through the caverns, a hint they were nearing their objective... or so they hoped.

Each were dressed in black from head to toe, wearing hoods to hide their hair and facial features, black shirts and pants, boots and gloves. Endymion had his sword strapped across his back, the Space Sword hadn't left Uranus' hand since they'd landed and the Aqua mirror was tucked into Neptune's belt next to a rope and grappling hook.

Uranus had a pack on her back with supplies and an extra pair of clothes for the Princess for when they found her. They hoped to sneak her out from under Diamond's nose, but Endymion had the feeling Serenity would be harder to rescue than he had been. Serenity knew full well she was a captive, where Endymion had not.

Endymion paused as he felt a firm grasp on his arm and he turned his head halfway to look at Uranus. She pointed up to the next bend and then pointed to herself with her blade. He nodded and the senshi and she crept forward cautiously, careful not to make a sound as she peered around the corner. Waving them forward, she then put up one hand, pointing downwards. The other two looked down, Neptune laying one hand casually on Uranus' thigh for balance.

Below them were two guards talking in quiet voices. Endymion strained to hear but couldn't make anything out but murmurs and then turned to the other two and pointed further down the tunnel, or what was left of it. Uranus shook her head and made a sign for five. Endymion looked at her questioningly and then she shrugged and dropped off the ledge, dropping the two and a half meters to land on the surprised guards, knocking them both unconscious. She crouched on their backs, spinning for a careful look around before looking back up and grinning.

Neptune and Endymion dropped down near her. "I swear you are enjoying this," Endymion told her in a quiet voice just above a whisper.

Uranus shrugged as Neptune checked the guards, stepping off them. "I am. It is not often I get into close combat. I have not forgotten our mission, Prince Endymion, but I want to make them pay for what they have done to our Princess."

"Then let's wait to take it out on Diamond." Neptune suggested in the same hushed tone. "These guards will soon be replaced. Come on, we must move."

Endymion and Uranus didn't question her, having learned early on to trust her intuition.

They moved quietly into the shadows as Neptune hastily arranged the guards to make them look like they had just fallen asleep on watch before joining them. She motioned for them to go down one tunnel, taking up the rear as the others made their way forward.

A few hours later they stopped in a small cave, Endymion closing his eyes in frustration. _Serenity, where are you, my love?_

Neptune and Uranus watched him as they unpacked their things for setting up a small, temporary camp.

"He doesn't look so well."

Neptune shot her companion a glance and a smile. "No worse than I would feel if something should happen to you. Give him time, Haruka; he's taking her disappearance hard."

"And the rest of us are not?"

Neptune sighed, stepping close to her and grasping one of her hands. "If something happened to you I would be a mess, just as he is now. Believe me, no one is taking it as hard as he is. We may not be married, but soul mates feel the strain when they are apart - you know that as well as I do."

Uranus nodded thoughtfully. "Just as knowing she is near but unable to find her is draining on him. I think I understand. But... he _is _the Prince - he should be strong."

"For how long? Even you need a moment or two of weakness every three hundred years," Neptune teased. "Leave him be - he will join us when he is ready."

Uranus squeezed her hand and then dropped it, moving over to the door to keep a look out as Neptune set about making something to eat.

Endymion finally joined her near the heating unit, a weary look on his face.

"You should sleep, your highness," Neptune told him softly. "You will need your rest if you want to fight Diamond and best him."

"Diamond is a coward, Neptune; he will probably try to kill me without sullying his own hands."

"On the contrary, he will want to kill you with his own so that he can tell Serenity he felled you with his own sword. Cowards need to know their rivals are dead. Sleep, Uranus and I will keep watch this night."

Endymion smiled wanly. "How long have you known her?" He nodded towards where Uranus was sitting in the shadows of the small cave, her sword across her knees, her fingers idly caressing the blade.

Neptune watched Uranus with a smile. "Forever, your highness. She and I... we will always be together, we always _have been _together - I could not ask for a better partner."

"You speak as if you love her."

"I do. As you would give your life to keep Serenity safe, I would do the same in a heartbeat for her. As Serenity and you are bonded, so are Uranus and I. It is different, for sure, but not by much."

Endymion looked Neptune up and down, taking in her quiet beauty, the aqua hair framing her face and he shook his head. "I cannot say I blame her. You are indeed beautiful, both inside and out."

Neptune blushed. "Thank you, your highness, but flattery is unnecessary."

"But sincere I assure you. Would you die for Serenity as you would die for her?"

"We both swore an oath, and part of that oath puts our mission - to keep the Queen and the Princess safe - above our safety. Should she fall, she knows I will mourn her later - but she also trusts me enough to complete the mission. You should trust us, Endymion; we have the same objective and we love our Princess almost as much as you do."

Endymion closed his eyes for a couple of moments before his head dropped as if in defeat. "I cannot feel our link as strong as it was this morning. I am dying, Neptune; dying because I do not know how she is. I have a feeling of constant fear, of constant anguish, and there is nothing I can do to comfort her."

"Sleep, your highness. You are weary and it probably does not help. Uranus is right; we will keep watch this night."

Endymion nodded his thanks before collecting a blanket and curling up to sleep in a dark corner of the cave.

--

"Will he be alright?"

"He will make it I believe."

"He won't endanger the princess, then?"

"Not in this lifetime, nor in the next. He would gladly die for her, surely you know that."

"You spoke with him at length. I did not. I just wish to know if he will be any use to us if her life is in danger."

"Her life is already in danger. He will do anything to save her, as would we, trust him, and things will work out."

"I will; for your sake."

A smile curved her lips in the darkness as the sentry turned back to her watch.

--

Serenity looked up as the door looked open. She'd given up looking out the window after the first six days, as if waiting for a sign. There was no way to see the Moon, nor the Earth and darkness was all that lay beyond it; it was starting to creep into her soul along with despair.

Endymion should have been there by now.

He would come for her, she knew he would, but she had hoped it would be before now.

Serenity breathed a sigh of relief as dark hair preceded the figure into the room. Diamond's brother closed the door behind him and raised his eyes to hers. Her breath caught in her throat as it always did when she was with Sapphire; he looked enough like Endymion to be his twin.

"You are well, Princess?"

Shaking her, she dropped her feet to the floor, the tattered and torn hem of her dress whispering against the bare skin of her ankles. "I wish to go home, Sapphire," she told him quietly, her heart breaking with the words. Her mother would be terribly worried.

"Your home will not be yours for much longer, Serenity."

She gasped, startled. "What do you mean? Do they mean to attack again?"

He nodded, and walked forward to grasp her hands in his in a gentle, firm grip. He frowned as she winced and tugged on one of her hands. He held it up and his lips flattened. "Diamond has hurt you."

Nodding silently, unable to speak with his resemblance to Endymion - it was much more pronounced when he was displeased. Tears welled in her eyes and overflowed.

Sapphire cursed and pulled her into his arms. Surprised, he held her as she came willingly, curling close and crying softly, her tears wetting his shirt. He rubbed her back gently. "Please don't cry Princess, I will make sure Diamond does not hurt you again."

"You cannot stop him - or my tongue from infuriating him so." She spoke between sobs. "I miss my beloved, Sapphire. I can feel his soul and heart bound to mine - but it is faint, almost like a whisper. My heart is breaking and I feel like I am dying. Please, _please _help me escape."

"I cannot, Princess, you know that. My brother... I cannot betray him, no matter how much I wish to."

She pulled away from him, tears glittering on her cheeks. "I will not marry him; I have a husband and he will come for me. I will not even try to like him, nor pretend to. He makes my skin crawl when he looks at me." She swallowed hard, fighting to keep her courage. "I will hurt him the next time he tries to touch me, Sapphire - I swear it."

"Do as you must to protect yourself Princess, and I will do as I must. If you must injure him, do so, but try not to incur his wrath, or he will make you suffer."

Her posture took on its regal bearing, almost haughty despite her situation. "I will incur his wrath and more. I would rather die than have his flesh near mine."

Sapphire smiled slightly. "It is good to see six days has not broken your spirit. A word of advice Princess; if your Prince is indeed coming for you, wait until you hear fighting in the next room to make your move. The door is guarded well; you will hear him coming for you. If Diamond is in here, take your opportunity, you will not get another. Now eat, you will need your strength in the comings days." Sapphire smiled at her again before silently departing.

Serenity looked down at the small tray she hadn't noticed he was carrying. Turning his words over in her mind, she vowed to do as he suggested. Her stomach turned as she backed towards the chair, swiping her arm across her eyes, and saw the door start to open again. A shiver of dread slid down her spine as Diamond stepped through.

He shook his head as he took in her appearance. "My dear, you are royalty, you should dress like it. Perhaps I will have to strip you myself..." the look in his eyes didn't suggest anything to do with clothing, rather, more something to do without it.

"NO!" She shrieked as he moved towards her, dodging from his grasp only to cry out as he grabbed the end of one of her ponytails.

Pulling on it, she tried to yank it from his grasp but he had a firm grip on her hair. Wrapping it around his hand, he approached her, making it impossible for her to run. Tears traced down her cheeks as his hand slid with bruising force to her waist, digging into the soft flesh. His thumb gently caressed her stomach and she froze, frantically searching for some way to get out of the situation.

"There, that's better. Now, as I was saying, perhaps I should strip you myself so that you must change."

Her stomach shriveled up and fear coursed through her veins, clouding her judgment as his other hand, the one still grasping her hair, slid up one of her arms, stopping on the outside of her breast. She flinched away from the touch but he held her still as he continued to stroke her belly. "I would make you feel like a Queen, Serenity, if you would only love me."

She met his gaze squarely. "I could never love a man such as you, Diamond. Once you were gentle and tender, now you are nothing but a monster! Release me."

"If I were a monster as you claim me to be, would I release you when I now have you where I wish you to be?" His voice was dangerously soft.

"No."

"Then why would I let you go if I am that monster?"

She challenged him with her eyes, praying he couldn't read in them exactly how terrified she was he would do what he was threatening. "To prove me wrong."

Diamond searched her face, both of his thumbs getting dangerously close to personal as he considered her words. Serenity swore if they moved any closer she would break them both and not think twice about it. His hands finally stilled and he released her. "I am not a monster, my love; you will learn that, along with many other things in time." He turned on his heel and stalked angrily from the room, slamming the door behind him.

Serenity closed her eyes in a thankful prayer to Selene. She had bought herself more time; she only prayed it was enough.

--

"I thought you had the rope."

"I did have the rope!"

"Then what did you do with it?"

"Where is that blasted rope?" Endymion hissed at the two senshi, his gaze on the barred window below him.

Uranus looked at Neptune. "Spread em; I'm going to find that blasted rope."

Neptune slapped her hand over her mouth as Uranus began searching her waist and thighs for the rope. She cursed after a couple of minutes. "She's right; she doesn't have it."

Endymion closed his eyes, shaking his head but laughing softly as Uranus's voice drifted to him.

"And I thought you just wanted my hands on your body..."

"If you two are finished, could we get back to finding a way to that window without the rope?"

"Jumping, maybe?"

"We will not be able to take her out of there if we jump down. We will have to go through Diamond's main chambers." Endymion's eyes glittered with suppressed rage. "If he's harmed her in any way, I will have his hide for a carpet."

Uranus stared at him as if she'd never seen him before and watched as he started back down the tunnel for the main doors to the stronghold. "I never thought I'd ever hear royalty say something like that..."

Neptune chuckled. "You don't give him enough credit, Haruka," she admonish in the same tone. "The prince is more set than we are on getting Serenity out of here safely."

Uranus smiled at her before laying a gently hand on Neptune's shoulder. "I know, Michiru. Come, we must make sure they get out of here safely."

Neptune grasped Uranus' hand as she was tugged gently forward. "Where you go I will follow. Be careful."

"You too."


	4. Chapter 4

_Chapter 4_

Serenity lashed out at Diamond with one hand, catching him with a wet sounding smack across the face. "Get your hands off me," she hissed, spinning out of his reach again as his hold on her loosened. "Next time you touch me I swear you will not walk away without something being broken!"

"Idle threats, my dear," he told her viciously, wiping one hand across his mouth and removing the wet stain of blood from his lips as he looked at her with glittering, wild eyes. "You have threatened before and now and not done anything. Why would I think you would do anything now?"

Serenity's eyes spat fire as she ducked away from his reach yet again. "I have been a complacent captive thus far, Diamond, but do not push me."

Diamond laughed darting towards her and then backing off. "Are you scared of me, my love? Scared of what I will do to you when I catch you? You should not be frightened of me; I would never do anything to hurt you, you know that, do you not?"

"You have yet to prove that to me, Diamond."

"I have not hurt you, my dear, in any way shape or form."

Serenity raised one of her hands, revealing bruised knuckles, the purple and blue skin surrounding her wedding ring puffy and swollen from his previous grip. The sight of the ring was all that seemed to catch his attention and he growled. "I told Sapphire to have you remove that; I suppose I will have to remove it myself."

"You have injured me, Diamond; can you not see the hurt you have caused me?"

"No more than you have done to me, my dear. Remove the ring."

"Never." she hissed, cradling her hand close to her breast and watching him warily. "My love will come for me, Diamond, my husband will not see me defiled and I would rather die that remove the symbol of his love for me."

Diamond screamed then, a sound torn from his throat by pain and anguish. "No! Serenity you cannot mean that. I was something to you once. Have things passed so far that I am nothing to you now?"

"You were my friend, Diamond, but when you kidnapped me you became mine, and my husband's enemy. No! Do not come near me. Diamond, stop, please." Her eyes widened alarmingly as he stalked towards her, his hands clenched into fists at his sides.

"You are no man's but mine, Serenity; you just cannot see that yet because of the spell he has put on you. My kiss shall clear your mind and make you see that what I say is true."

"You are mad, Diamond. I will never kiss you."

He lunged for her then, not even pausing as a commotion in the outer chambers rang through the heavy door. His arm snaked around her waist as she squirmed and struggled to be free of him. He viciously grabbed her by the back of the head, drawing sparkling tears from her eyes as he tugged on her hair. Serenity shrieked as the pain shot through her skull.

"_Serenity_!"

Diamond and Serenity froze as the shout was heard through the door, muffled but clear.

"_Endymion_!" She screamed her reply, her heart soaring and filling with hope.

Diamond tugged her flush against him and his mouth came down with a bruising, vicious force on hers.

Serenity tasted blood as her teeth cut into her cheeks and nearly gagged as his tongue plunged into her mouth. She twisted, fighting to be free but couldn't shake his mouth and tears of frustration crawled down her cheeks as she was forced to remain immobile in his grasp. She couldn't breathe, her air being completely cut off and her hand clenched at her waist as she panicked. Pushing against his shoulder with a violent motion, her hand tingled uncomfortably. There was a loud crack and a male scream as she dropped into unconsciousness, aware that she'd given into weakness with help less than a stone throw away.

--

"_Serenity_!" Endymion yelled for her as he and the senshi stormed the main doorway to Diamond's chambers. They encountered tough resistance, but the three fought well, Endymion allowing Uranus and Neptune to take point.

"World... _Shaking_!"

Screams echoed through the chamber as the guards were forced to scramble for footing, the room shaking under the assault of Uranus' earthquake attack. The boyish senshi smiled grimly as a crack opened beneath a few of the soldiers in the chamber, dropping them and the opulent bed into the chasm.

"My turn." Neptune stepped in front of her partner and stretched out one hand. "Deep... _Submerge_!"

A column of water shot from her hands, forcing a few more of the guards into the hole in the floor, gasping and sputtering as the water died away and then screaming as they dropped into the void.

Endymion smiled. "Ladies, you are truly magnificent. It has been my honor to fight with you." His gaze turned to the door in the far wall of the room. "He will not live out this day."

Uranus placed one hand on his shoulder. "Do not throw away your life, Prince Endymion. Selene's blessings go with you."

"And you. Guard our exit; I will be back with her shortly." Endymion slipped to the door, drawing his sword as he approached. The door swung open and he slipped inside.

"Haruka!"

Uranus spun at the sound of Neptune's voice and then screamed with rage as she was knocked aside by her partner, the arrow meant for her heart burying itself deep into Neptune's chest. Her arms closed around Neptune as they hit the ground, the Space sword dropping from her hand and ringing with a loud clang on the stone floor.

"Neptune?" She shook the sea haired senshi's shoulder. "Michiru? _No_!" The word was torn from her throat in a primeval howl of anguish. Blue-green eyes flashed as she looked up from the body of her partner, rage and pain clearly visible. Pressing trembling lips to Neptune's forehead, right above her tiara, she gently brushed aqua colored hair from a face contorted in pain. "It won't end this way, I promise."

Her gaze narrowed on the archer who was notching another arrow, her gaze focusing almost tunnel-like through her bangs and through her lashes. She pushed off from the floor, disregarding the guards that were starting to filter into the room, her only goal the archer. Leaping at him, she willed the space sword to her hand as she neared.

In full flight she brought empty hands over her head, the blade appearing as she let out a blood curdling battle cry and brought the blade down. The mystical weapon cleaved straight into the man's skull, shattering it and sending skull fragments flying. Gore splattered the senshi as she landed, pulling the blade from his body. She spun, her eyes glittering with unshed tears as she looked about the room, anger and rage radiating from her like heat waves.

"Hold your course if you do not wish to die." The Captain of the guards spoke at last, his tone wavering from fear he tried to hide.

"I am not the one who will die this day," Uranus told him, raising the blade so it was level with her mouth. She narrowed her eyes. "Those who oppose me will die. I will be leaving this place alive - those of you who think otherwise are welcome to try and stop me."

The guards exchanged nervous looks as her words, laced with menace and deadly intent, were calmly said. "Drop your weapon." The captain spoke as the tension in the room climbed to unbearable limits, but his voice shook.

"Come take it from me if you dare try."

Not one of them moved.

Striding away from the bloody corpse of her first victim, she walked straight back to her partner's body.

The guards parted in front of her and she knelt next to Neptune un-molested, her hand tightening reflexively on the hilt of her sword. She placed her hand, still holding the blade, on Neptune's chest near the protruding arrow and then grasped the shaft of the arrow and tugged with a swift motion, breaking the shaft with a snap.

"What kind of arrow head was he using?" Uranus asked the question calmly, her gaze looking from one soldier to another, finding the ones holding the bows easily and pinning them with a hard stare.

"Piercing arrows," one spoke up at last. "It should pull out the same way it went in, milady, and do no additional damage."

Her free hand grasped the shaft of the arrow. "You are certain? If you're not, it will be your death."

The archer gulped, his voice failing and nodded.

Uranus bent her head to the task and tugged. Rolling to the side, she covered Neptune's body with her own as suddenly loosed arrows struck the ground where they'd been moments earlier. Uranus hardened her expression, seeing her gloves stained crimson and then turned and released the space sword at the archers who's tried to kill her from behind. The sword arced in the air, striking each of the four at waist height. Almost as one they grabbed for their stomachs to keep their innards from falling out, their bows clattering to the floor.

The senshi from Uranus looked around the room. "Any question?"

The Captain of the guard advanced on her, sword drawn and aimed at her throat. "You are unarmed, you are now my prisoner."

Uranus smiled at him pleasantly, "Really?"

"Y-yes. Stand up."

Uranus stood slowly, her hands at her sides.

"Put your hands on your head." The captain growled the words, growing bolder and taking another step near her.

Uranus clenched her hand and smiled. "You don't want me to do that,"

"Put your hands on your head!" the guard snapped.

Uranus snapped one hand upwards, the space sword, having been willed back to her grasp, slicing cleanly through his blade and stopping just below his chin. "Now, drop your weapons, all of you, if you don't wish to have to find a new Captain of the guard. Though, as one Captain of the guard to another, I wouldn't trust you at my back, you sniveling coward."

"P-please don't kill me." He stammered as the sound of his men's weapons hitting the floor echoed through the room.

"And deny your lord that pleasure? Never." She reversed her grip on the sword and smashed the guard into his face. The guard had an obvious glass jaw and slid to the floor without so much as a whimper.

Uranus' head snapped around as the sound of a large body hitting the door across the room echoed in the sudden stillness. She smiled grimly and silently wished the Prince luck in his fight.

--

The door latched shut with a quiet click as Endymion entered the room. His gaze immediately fell on Serenity and he had to bite back a cry of rage. She lay on the floor, dress torn and sullied, wound around swollen and bruised ankles. Diamond was crouched beside her, his hands working on the buttons at the back of the garment, obscuring her face from his view.

"Get your hands off of my wife."

Diamond spun around at the sound of the voice, his hand tearing through the thin material with a jerk, sending two of the three buttons spinning off across the floor. His gaze narrowed on the man standing in the doorway.

"Prince Endymion, how nice to see you again," he said casually, sliding one hand down Serenity's back and parting the fabric of her dress as he spoke.

"_Get your hands off of my wife!_"

Diamond raised an eyebrow. "Your wife? Do you have a wife, Prince?"

Endymion stepped forward, raising his sword. "Get away from her."

Diamond remained where he was. "Or you'll what? Strike down an unarmed opponent? Kill me where I can bleed all over your precious Serenity. I know who holds the upper hand in this fight, Endymion, and as long as I have your precious Princess you won't touch me."

Endymion took another step forward. "If you have hurt her in any way, bathing in your blood should get rid of any injuries."

Diamond grabbed Serenity around the neck and tugged her upright, using her as a human shield, revealing the ravaged side of her face, bruised and bloodied, her golden hair tainted with a crimson stain. Her dress just barely clung to her figure, the diaphanous material hanging at a dangerous angle and ready to fall away at any moment.

Endymion's eyes flared with rage, hatred and concern seeing his beloved in such a state. He took a step forward, intending to rip her from Diamond's grasp when the flash of a blade being pressed against her neck caught his attention and brought him up short. "One more move, and she is lost to us both, Endymion."

"You would not."

"And why not? She is not mine to loose - though I have spent much time trying to persuade her otherwise. You do not deserve her when she was mine to begin with!"

"She was never yours. I have seen the way she looks at you, Diamond - and she hates you. She would never have married you of her own free will if she had been given that choice."

"Oh and she married you because she chose to? She only married you because your mothers wanted and alliance between the Earth and the Moon!"

"She married me because I asked her, not because she was forced too. Had she turned me down I would have accepted that. Release her, Diamond, she is not yours."

Diamond tugged her head upwards, a small crimson line making its way down the slender column of her throat and he smiled wickedly as Endymion tensed. "I could kill her now," he taunted softly. "And she would be lost to you forever."

Endymion smiled tightly. "You and I will both follow her if she dies," he promised darkly.

"You will, perhaps Prince, but I intend to rule this new order as we rise from the ashes of the Moon Kingdom."

Endymion suddenly lunged at the two of them, one hand grasping the knife blade at Serenity's throat and tearing it away, blood pouring from a bone-deep slash in the middle of his palm. The knife clattered to the ground as Endymion's other arm wrapped around Serenity's waist and yanked her, forcefully, from Diamond's grasp.

Diamond fell back with a hiss, one hand cradling the opposite shoulder. "Neither of you will leave here alive,"

Endymion cradled his beloved in his arms, gently brushing her blood spattered hair out of her face. "You are wrong, Diamond. It is you who will not leave this place alive."

Diamond spun away and unsheathed his blade, dropping into a guarded stance between Endymion and the door. "Get past me if you can, little Prince."

Endymion strode two steps to a seat by the window and gently laid his wife down before turning to face Diamond completely, blood dripping from the wound in his palm and spattering on the floor. His uninjured hand grasped his sword in a light, deceptive grip. "You will not leave this room alive, Diamond."

"Then you will be going with me!"

Diamond lunged at the other Prince with his sword stretched out in front of him, straight for the heart. Endymion parried the blow and pushed back viciously, sending Diamond into the heavy door with a loud crash, splinters raining down on the floor, cracks appearing in the fixture. Diamond snarled at Endymion, raising his sword and pointing it at him. "It is not that easy, Prince of Earth, you'll have to do better than that."

Endymion moved forward, slamming his sword against Diamond's blade in an over handed chop. The shriek of metal meeting metal echoed through the room as sparks flew, the gazes of the two Princes clashing over their locked blades. Endymion brought his injured hand up and slammed it into Diamond's face, blood coating his knuckles as Diamond's nose shattered under the blow.

Diamond reared back, lashing out with one foot and catching Endymion on the side of the knee, wrenching it badly, only the armor protecting the Prince of Earth from a shattered cap. Endymion stumbled, off balance from the blow and had to twist to avoid Diamond's blade as the Black Moon prince swung blindly for his throat.

The blow was clumsily executed since Diamond couldn't see, but Endymion felt steel bite into the side of his neck and blood trickle down inside his breastplate. He bit his tongue, trying not to curse from the pain and rolled away, coming back to his feet and barely feeling the pain that tore through his leg as Diamond wiped the blood from his face. "You will die for that, Earthling."

Endymion smiled grimly and put his injured hand behind his back, clenching the fingers to try and stop the blood that was flowing from the deep cut, but he didn't have the time or the energy to focus on healing. He felt a little light headed but narrowed his eyes on Diamond as the adrenaline raced through his system, and swung his sword at the other prince.

Diamond caught the blade with his own and, with two hands on the hilt, threw the Prince of Earth back again. He swung then, his blow aimed at Endymion's gut and smirked as the Prince held his ground and brought his blade down to deflect the blow. Diamond tugged one hand off his grip and threw a black ball of energy at Endymion, crying out with maniacal glee as Endymion brought his injured hand up as if to stop the energy.

Endymion closed his eyes as the rose he'd let fly collided with the energy and exploded, throwing Diamond back across the room, his sword skittering from his grasp. Endymion felt himself propelled backwards and encounter something solid, and heard something crunch. He groaned pain raced through his system. He tried to raise his head but found he couldn't as stars began to form behind his eyelids. He felt his grip on consciousness slipping...

--

The sound of his sword being hefted next to him brought Endymion back around, the tip of the heavy weapon dragging along the floor and creating an awful screech. Heavy lidded, he fought to open his eyes, to move, to somehow defend against the killing blow he knew would fall. His sight was hazy, blood making it difficult to see as he forced his eyes open. He felt like he'd been run over by something huge and his body was one big ache.

Bare feet with slender, swollen ankles came into focus and he blinked. Diamond didn't have feel like that, did he? Wasn't the man wearing boots? Torn, white material brushed against one of the ankles and his eyes flew completely open as he registered the scene.

Diamond lay across the room, his face turned away, motionless. Serenity, his precious Serenity, as both of her hands wrapped around the hilt of his sword, her fingers bruised, bleeding and swollen, her steps faltering under the weight of the weapon as she walked slowly towards the other Prince. Endymion could see the skin of her back sported finger marks - bruises - from Diamond's grip, as well as a new bow, the fabric falling just barely away from the knotted fabric around her chest, two buttons missing from the fasteners on her dress. The sword screeched on the floor again as she took another step towards Diamond, her arms visibly shaking from the weight as she pulled it forward.

Her back straightened as she finally stood over Diamond, dragging the sword next to his neck and stepping around so that his neck was under the heavy blade. He moaned and turned his head as if in a great deal of pain. Serenity's face was visible to Endymion as she tossed her head, throwing her hair behind her. Bruised and bloodied, he saw her mouth flattened in a determined line, her eyes narrowed on the man lying helplessly in front of her.

Diamond groaned and opened his eyes with obvious difficulty. He blinked several times before focusing on the woman above him, and his face took on a confused look.

"Serenity? What are you doing?"

Her arms shook with the effort of holding the sword as she looked down at him, a tear trailing slowly down her cheek, leaving a single track in the blood. She met his gaze evenly. "You will suffer the same fate as my aunt, and my mother's court." Her voice lacked any kind of emotion as she pronounced his sentence. "If I have to administer the punishment myself I will and I will rid my family - my kingdom - of your evil forever."

"I never meant to hurt you," he told her, his voice hoarse, "I only wanted us to be together."

"And in doing so you would kill every emotion, every spec of who I was just to have me." Her voice softened, showing the hurt and strain she'd been under the last few days as tears leaked from the corner of her eyes and ran slowly down her cheeks. "You nearly killed my mother; you killed her court, my aunt, injured my husband and held me captive against my will. The last I can forgive, the rest... You deserve no less than what you put them through. May Selene forgive you for what you have done to my family - for I never will."

Serenity dropped to her knees, the blade coming down with a clang as it cut cleanly through bone, muscle and skin, severing Diamond's head from his shoulders. His last cry was cut short as the life fled his body and it writhed in its death throes. Turning her face away as blood poured from the wound and spurted out around the blade to soak her gown in it.

Serenity looked at her hands as she dropped the blade and fell back, her stomach heaving with revulsion. Meeting Endymion's gaze across the room, her own was as stricken as her tone. "What have I done?"

Endymion winced as the feeling was slowly returning to his body, allowing him to push painfully from his position to his knees and crawl slowly towards her, his head and body protesting with every movement. She collapsed as he approached, her face turned away, as her stomach rebelled and she retched.

Endymion caught her as her body jerked uncontrollably, gently stroking her blood matted hair and holding her until she was able to control and compose herself. He tugged the fabric of his shirt and ripped a clean piece off, offering it to her with a faint smile. "It is not a lace handkerchief, but it will have to do."

His attempt at humor drew the faintest of smiles as she leaned against him and wiped her face. She glanced at Diamond's corpse before quickly averting her gaze, meeting Endymion's eyes briefly before lowering hers, tears pooling quickly before streaming down her cheeks. She clung to him as she wept and he enfolded her in his arms, rocking her gently back and forth as all feeling returned to his body, whispering comforting words in her ear.

A sound on the other side of the door brought their attention from each other and Endymion pushed himself to his feet, collecting its sword from its gruesome resting place. He positioned himself in front of Serenity as the door was forced open and guards spilled into the room. They froze seeing him standing over the body of their prince, his sword dripping blood.

"My name is Endymion; The Prince of Earth. I have reclaimed my bride from the man who wrongfully stole her," he told them, his voice steady and powerful. His gaze swept the men standing in the doorway, staring at him with awe. "Any who wish to join my army and fight for the right side in this war my do so by surrendering yourselves to the women in the next room. We will make arrangements to have you transported off this place. Those who do not... I take the right of leaving here unmolested with my woman and our friends. Any who oppose me will share his fate." He pointed at Diamond's headless, bloody corpse and locked a hard stare on the group of guards.

They parted slowly to allow him and Serenity access to the exit.

Endymion turned and wrapped one arm about her, enfolding her carefully in his cape and arms as he escorted her through the throng, sword at the ready, into the other room. He paused on the threshold, seeing Uranus standing to greet him, Neptune held cradled in her arms. He cast an inquiring look at the aqua haired senshi only to receive a minimal shake of the head from her partner.

Serenity looked at them confused. "Neptune and Uranus?" She looked back to Endymion. "You brought them to help you rescue me?"

"They insisted," he told her softly.

Serenity closed her eyes and fought against a new wave of tears as the realization that the outer senshi cared for her as much, if not more than, her court almost overwhelmed her. She finally opened her eyes again and met Uranus' gaze. "Thank you." Her words were soft as she and Endymion approached.

Uranus smiled wanly, the pain in her eyes mixed with pleasure. "We would die for you Princess." The vow was eloquent for the burden she carried as she turned away and led them out of Diamond's chambers.

Endymion sheathed his sword, scooping his wife up in his arms, and followed the senshi of Uranus back through the caverns.


	5. Chapter 5

_Chapter 5_

Serenity watched as the hunk of rock where she'd been trapped for a week drifted out of view of the small ship. She closed her eyes and rested her head on Endymion's shoulder as Uranus piloted them away and set a course for the Moon.

Uranus turned and looked at them, her heart squeezing painfully as her gaze moved past them to where Neptune was lying motionless. She sighed before meeting the Princes' gaze. "We should be arriving on the Moon in just under two days. I suggest that the two of you make use of this ship's cleaning facilities... There is an extra pair of clothes for you in the bag by the door, Princess, as well a cabin in the back where the two of you may sleep."

Serenity opened her eyes and smiled at her friend, reaching out one hand to grasp Uranus'. "Thank you. Thank you so much."

Uranus looked into her eyes before her gaze strayed back to the body of her partner. "You're welcome."

Serenity rose to her feet and placed one hand on the wall of the craft for balance as she moved towards the back of the small cockpit, towards the cabin. She stopped near Neptune's body and placed a gently hand over the senshi's heart, willing the woman to feel her gratitude... and the power of the Ginzuishou. She whispered her thanks before carefully continuing to the cabin, Endymion on her heels as she opened the door. She felt his arms slide around her waist, his hands gentle on her body, and kicked the door shut behind her.

--

Uranus engaged the auto pilot and leaned back in her chair, resting her tired eyes, feeling the hole inside her heart beginning to grow even wider. She wasn't even sure how she would be able to go on without Neptune. The one constant, the one person she could count on no matter what.

"Haruka?"

The choked, quiet voice came from behind her.

Uranus spun out of her chair, the Space Sword coming to her grasp unconsciously. She nearly dropped it when she saw her friend, her love, looking at her through pain soaked eyes. With a soft cry of joy she crossed the cabin in two steps and slid her arms around Neptune, holding her tightly, feeling her heartbeat strong against her own. "Michiru," she said softly, the name a prayer, a caress; a message of love.

Neptune's arms went around her and held tightly, stroking the short blonde hair softly. Uranus pulled away and looked deep into her eyes, smiling through eyes misted with tears. Neptune's gaze mirrored hers as Uranus' head came down.

--

Serenity stretched, feeling the protest of her muscles as she curled up next to her husband, the bruises on her body beginning to fade already. "I love you," she said softly, one hand drawing designs on his chest as one arm came about her, the other capturing her hand and linking his fingers with hers.

"And I love you, Angel," he told her softly, kissing her fingers gently. Her bandaged hand, her left hand, was tucked beneath her, cradled gently between their bodies. "I have missed you in the days you have been away from me."

Serenity sighed, curling closer to him, one leg sliding up over his. "And I you. I knew you would come for me, I never doubted it. It was hard sometimes to elude him though... he tried..." she shuddered and his arm tightened around her.

"It is over - for good now. Diamond can no longer hurt you."

"I know. I will never forget what I have done to him, Endy; never. How can I? I have taken a life." She fell silent and Endymion felt her tears begin to wet his bare chest.

He raised their linked hands, gently feeling the curve of her cheek before carefully, without looking, wiping the moisture from them. "You did what was necessary, my love, nothing more. If you had not, I would have. In some ways I wish you had let me, but it was within your right to claim his life. He hurt you more directly than I. He wounded me by taking you from me. He wounded you by taking away four people you love and then taking you from me. It does not justify taking his life, but ridding the galaxy of his evil, his insanity, is not a crime in my eyes - it was mercy."

Shuddering, she clutched him, burying her head in his shoulder and silently sobbing her pain, her torment, into his chest. His arms remained tight around her as he pushed himself into a sitting position and pulled her into his lap. He gently stroked her gleaming hair, the waterfall of gold covering them like a blanket. He rocked her then, gently caressing her hair and back.

Serenity cried. She cried for the soul of a man turned evil, for the innocence she'd lost when she'd ended his life and most of all for the danger she knew was not completely gone. She cried for the troubles they were to face and the separations she knew would be inevitable. Finally, shoulders heaving, she sniffled and pulled away fractionally. Endymion pushed a piece of fabric into her hand and she blew her nose and wiped her eyes before passing it back to him.

Endymion placed it to the side and looked at her critically, concern etched into his features. "Will you be alright, Serenity?"

"With you by my side I will."

He kissed her gently, his hands framing her face as he worshiped her mouth with his own. She clutched his shoulders, feeling the world spin as he laid her gently back. Serenity felt fire fly though her veins as passion over took them both, obliterating the memories of Diamond's mistreatment once again.

--

Uranus dropped from the hatch of the ship and landed on the surface of the Moon's landing pad, reaching up to help Neptune down and out of the way.

Endymion dropped from the hatch then, dressed in his full armor and turned, holding his arms out to his wife. Smiling, she looked around the pad, her smile turning brilliant as she saw her mother, and dropped into his arms. She held him tightly as he set her on her feet before he released her and ran to her mother.

Queen Serenity opened her arms and enfolded her daughter in a tight hug. Endymion, Neptune and Uranus approached and stood off to the side as Mother and daughter were reunited.

"Serenity, my darling!" Queen Serenity's murmur was broken. "I had thought you lost."

Serenity clung to her mother. "Never, mother. Endymion would never stop searching for me."

Queen Serenity held onto her daughter tightly, her eyes closed as the regal woman fought tears. "Oh my darling, my darling Serenity. Welcome home."

Finally the two separated and The Queen looked at Neptune and Uranus. She extended her hands and grasped one of each of theirs. "Thank you. Thank you for helping bring my daughter home safely."

Uranus and Neptune felt power flow through them and heard the Princess gasp. They looked at each other, blinking as they saw their senshi uniforms had changed. No sleeves. Multi-colored fukus; light and then dark skirts - the mark of the court protectors.

They bowed to the Queen. "Thank you, your majesty." They spoke as one. "We will strive to be worthy of this honor."

"You have earned it already, my friends."

Finally the Queen turned to Endymion and held out her arms, tucking her daughter under one and sliding her other arm around the Princes' shoulders. "And you. You are the one man in the universe who would fight even death itself for her. I count myself blessed, Endymion. I find that my daughter is the luckiest of woman and I bless the day she broke our laws and went to Earth. Thank you, my son."

Endymion hugged them both. "No need to thank me; I would gladly give my life for her and more."

Serenity finally extracted herself from her mother's grip. "Is there any word on the Lady Beryl's attack?"

Queen Serenity sighed as her daughter brought them back to business. "Join me tomorrow in the main war room and I will show you everything that has happened in your absence. For tonight - enjoy your husband. Tomorrow is soon enough to go back to war."

Serenity blushed as Endymion chuckled and wrapped his arm about her waist. "Is that a request or a command, mother?"

"Whatever it need be to allow you to enjoy yourself, Serenity."

An impish smile crossed the Princess' face as she hugged Endymion. "I _do not_ need to be told twice."

Endymion led her from the landing pad, back towards their room as her mother lead Neptune and Uranus towards the war room for a full report on the rescue mission.

--

Endymion escorted his wife into their chambers and assisted her to a chair where she collapsed, her eyes closing. "How is your head?" He knelt before her, rubbing her hand worriedly.

"Pounding," she said softly. "That composure was difficult to maintain."

"But you do it so well." His tease was gentle as his hands slid over her knees through her dress and down to grasp her calf. Tugging her skirt above the still slightly swollen ankle, the color still yellow and green, he removed her slippers. Glancing up at her, he smiled softly when he was certain she wouldn't be looking at him and looked his fill, memorizing her beloved face.

"Am I such a novelty that you must look at me so?" She inquired, not opening her eyes.

He chuckled and then lifted her out of the chair. "I missed you, my love. You cannot blame me for wanting to look my fill. You are more beautiful every day."

Opening her eyes once more, she slid her arms around his neck, her blue gaze searching his. What she saw stole her breath. "You truly mean that," she marveled softly. Despite the carefully concealed bruises, cuts, and the swollen ridge above her right eyebrow, she hardly looked her best.

"Of course I mean that. You are the most stunning woman I have ever known. You have a strength of will - a courage - that shines through to your skin and your heart is pure, free of hatred."

"But... Diamond..."

He shook his head. "You did not hate Diamond, Angel. Otherwise you would never have cried for him afterwards. You may have disliked him, even hated what he put you through, but you never hated _him_. You do not have the capability within you to hate."

"I think you give me too much credit."

Sweeping her off her feet, he carried her to their bed and laid her gently down. "On the contrary; you do not give yourself enough credit. Trust me, Angel; though you may have ended his madness, I believe it was an act of mercy more than an act of anger, or revenge."

She smiled then, her gaze shimmering with tears, the feelings in her heart expanding beyond and into his. Endymion lowered his head and kissed her carefully - mindful of her injuries - and allowed her to fell the completion that was perfection when they were together. When he finally he pulled back and looked down at her, he smiled, seeing her flushed face.

"I am not letting you go again, Angel. Will you come with me back to Earth if it comes down to it, or do I stay here with you?"

Serenity sighed, meeting his gaze and lifted her bandaged hand to stroke his face. "Can we decide tomorrow when we find out what we have missed? Can we ignore it for one more night as mother suggested? I simply wish for you to hold me tonight."

Endymion nodded, feeling her fears with her love and her sadness. "Do not worry for our kingdom, my love. We will be doing plenty of that tomorrow."

Serenity tugged him down to her, laying her head on his shoulder and closing her eyes, blocking out everything except for the feel of him, of his arms around her. Their honeymoon was but a memory, the realities of their lives having come down with a resounding crash and she had a feeling it was not over yet. The luxury of lying in her husband's arms for a night was not one they would be able to afford frequently.

Endymion bowed his head and kissed the top of Serenity's, closing his eyes. He allowed the feeling of belonging, the feeling of safety and love to surround him, and lost himself in it.

--

"The Dark Moon family has been dealt a crippling blow." Queen Serenity looked about the room as she spoke.

The four young senshi, their faces drawn and pale, sat closest, the three outer senshi, and the Prince and Princess along with the Captain of the guard completed the assembled. The Queen pointed to the dark rock where Serenity had been held captive. "According to Saturn, the asteroid has collapsed in upon itself with the death of their Prince. Pluto has informed me that Emerald, Sapphire and their younger siblings have pulled back to Nemesis to regroup and they are not a threat for now."

Pushing a button in front of her on the screen brought up a map of Earth. Queen Serenity pointed to blue and red lines on the display and her gaze met Endymion's. "These few remaining blue lines are where the Terran armies are still holding out against the Lady Beryl and her forces. These red lines are where they have battled and lost."

Endymion was half out of his chair, his gaze drawn to the largest line, his head shaking as if in disbelief. "No..." he murmured, his hand clenching convulsively on his wife's and he felt her other hand gently stroke his forearm. He turned anguished eyes to her before returning to his seat with difficulty.

The Princess looked at her mother. "What news of the Terran forces? The King and the Generals?"

Queen Serenity shook her head sadly. "The Generals are missing, presumed captured, or worse. The King was found on the battle field surrounded by almost thirty enemies. He died a warrior. I'm sorry, Endymion."

Endymion took a deep breath and straightened his shoulder before meeting the Queen's eyes squarely. "Thank you, Queen Serenity. Is there any news about my mother?"

"She is being transported here tomorrow if this line," she pointed to a large blue line surrounding the castle's lands, "does not hold. Spies tell us that your mother may be safe, for the Lady Beryl is after you and has learned of your presence here on the Moon. Her attack will be towards our forces here."

"Can you hold her off where my warriors have failed?"

Queen Serenity looked at the senshi gathered in the room. "We may have an advantage that the Lady Beryl is unaware of. The Ginzuishou can be used to destroy her if the need arises. I pray I do not have to use it."

"If you use it, your majesty, you'll die." Saturn told her quietly. "You cannot use it safely."

"We must all make sacrifices, Saturn; you of all the senshi know that better than anyone. You all know your positions in this fight; I am counting on you to boost our defenses as needed. To your posts. Endymion, Serenity, I would prefer if you stayed inside the palace to coordinate our efforts here."

Serenity looked at her husband. "I know you wish to join the soldiers, but I will have need of you at my side, of that I am certain. Will you guard me, my love?"

Endymion nodded. "To my last breath, Angel. We will do as you ask, Queen Serenity."

"Then to your posts. We will be maintaining an around the clock watch. We cannot be caught by surprise."

The senshi slowly exited the room, leaving only the Royal family. The Queen nodded to her daughter and the Prince and then left them alone. As the door closed behind them Endymion sagged in his chair, his eyes closing. Serenity wrapped her arms around him and embraced him with her heart, feeling his grief, and his need to be strong for both her and her mother.

"I am sorry, Endymion," she whispered softly. "So sorry."

Endymion wrapped her in his arms and held her tightly, fighting against the grief that threatened to overwhelm him. His father; his best friends – all gone; missing or worse. He took in a deep breath, and felt it catch in his throat.

Serenity's hands on his face were drawing his head gently to her bosom – and it was his undoing and a ragged sob tore from his throat. She embraced him tightly as he held onto her, using her as an anchor for his grief. He sobbed again, the sound echoing in the room and tearing into Serenity's heart. Gently stroking his hair, she held him until she felt his shaking stop.

Finally he pulled away from her, his face and eyes were dry, but the skin surrounding them was swollen and his nose was slightly red. She tugged a handkerchief from his shirt pocket and offered it to him with a smile. Endymion blew his nose and then pocketed the handkerchief again, before running a hand through his hair and taking a deep breath.

"Are you alright?"

He opened his eyes and met hers, nodding in silent response.

"Thank you, Angel." Leaning forward, he gently kissed her before forcing a smile. "Come, we have much to do."

Serenity crawled off his lap and stood, offering him her hand as he rose to his feet. He slid his hand into hers and exited the room beside her.


	6. Chapter 6

_Chapter 6_

Serenity sat next to her mother in the dining hall, Endymion on her other side, dressed in her newly made royal gown, identical to the last save for the size fit her much better.

"Are you not hungry, dear?" Her mother's question was soft as she leaned in close so not to be overheard.

Serenity shook her head. "I am afraid my stomach is churning and does not find the food to its liking," she replied in the same quiet tone. "It has been... rebellious for the last few days."

Queen Serenity smiled at her. "Are you certain you are with child now?"

Princess Serenity cast a covert glace out the side of her eye at her beloved, flushing slightly. "If I was not before, I am now."

"Then we must throw a ball to celebrate. The new generation of royalty is growing." The Queen's eyes sparkled with delight. "You would not deny the necessity of a party to help raise the spirits of our subjects, would you?"

"Of course not mother! But we are at war. Did Endymion not tell you about the mysterious woman who stole his brother from their house?"

"He did. I believe it was Pluto, influencing a timeline she feels needs to be fixed. Do not tell him, for he may wish to make a journey to the time gate to confront her and we cannot allow that to happen. As for your condition..."

Serenity sighed. "Mother, I cannot hide that from him."

"Hide what from me, Angel?"

The Lunarians broke apart almost guiltily and the Princess looked at her Prince with a smile. "Mother wishes to throw a ball, my love. I... In honor of... because..." Pausing, she took a deep breath to steady her nerves. "I am going to have our child, Endymion."

His eyes widened. "You are certain?"

She blushed, nodding.

"Serenity, that is wonderful!" He leaned over and kissed her, not caring in the least that every eye was now on them. "We must announce it - a ball to celebrate is a great idea. How soon?"

Queen Serenity laughed. "It has not been planed yet, we were simply discussing the necessity of one to celebrate."

"A week from today, then?" Rising to his feet, he swept Serenity into his arms and spun her around. "Serenity, Angel, this is wonderful news!" He kissed her again, unable to wipe the smile from his face as he spun her around.

A titter around the table went unnoticed as Serenity returned his kiss and Endymion placed her back in her chair with one last hug. His hand slipped to her thigh under the table as he returned to his own seat and resumed eating.

Following his lead, Serenity resumed her meal but grasped his hand in one of hers and placed it over her belly where their child grew. Murmurs around the table from the various individuals were soft as they speculated what could possibly have made the Prince sweep his wife up in such obvious adulation and excitement.

Queen Serenity finally stood, folding her napkin next to her plate and drew the attention of everyone present. Rumors were starting to fly and she had every intention of squashing them - immediately. "As all of your know we are at War. The past weeks have brought much sadness to each of us and not one person here has been unaffected by the tragic set of events that have transpired."

There were nods about the table, solemn faces retuning the Queen's sad smile.

"I offer you a new hope, something that may indeed bring a little happiness to your hearts as it has to mine. My daughter and her husband," she smiled at them, unapologetic for making the announcement for them, "are pleased to announce that they are expecting a child; a child of both Terran and Lunarian royalty - the heir to both thrones!"

Serenity blushed as Endymion squeezed her hand. Murmurs and applause filled the brief silence as the other Princesses acknowledged the union. Serenity smiled up at her mother, and then looked around the table, her gaze meeting each individual's gaze before she looked lovingly at her husband once again. Her mother once more drew instance silence from the members of the court.

"As you know, it is customary to celebrate momentous events with a ball and this one shall be no different. In fact, we hope to help raise morale in the system and so it will be a ball where all soldiers not drawing watch, and all court protectors and bodyguards will be expected to attend. Each planet must be represented - and so I will go myself to formally extend an invitation to my in-law." She inclined her head to Endymion before smiling. "I hope that this news in some way can bring some light into a dark future. Now, if you will excuse me, I must prepare for my journey, and I will leave the planning of the ball in Mercury's capable hands. A week from today; a formal masque - of course."

Mercury smiled a wry smile, inclining her head in agreement. "Of course."

The Queen then nodded and left, a solitary figure standing straight and tall, filled with a new purpose as she disappeared through the doors towards the throne room.

Conversation and questions exploded with her exit and Serenity found herself laughing, holding up her hands for silence. "Please, my friends - one at a time!"

They quieted down, Mercury bent over a small computer, already beginning the planning of the ball. Serenity stood with her hands on the table top, one still entwined in that of her husband's. "Now, please, one at a time. I only have one set of ears, contrary to popular belief. Jupiter, you wanted to ask something."

"Just curious, how far along are you?"

Serenity blushed. "Honestly, I do not know. No more than a month and a half."

Mars chuckled at her reply. "But you're certain now?"

"I am."

"But you were not before. What makes you so certain now?"

Serenity shrugged, "I just... know. I cannot explain it," she glanced at Endymion. "Specific... bodily functions have not made themselves known the last month, and I am positive I will not see them this month either. Is that not sufficient?"

Mars laughed, holding up her hands. "Sorry I asked."

"Are you really?" Serenity raised an eyebrow, her smile teasing. "Venus, what have you to say?"

"Congratulations, cousin," she grinned and winked. "I _knew _you would be the first to have an heir, especially with such a... er... with such a man as your husband."

Serenity raised an eyebrow in question, seeing Venus flush. "You approve? I am flattered." she replied dryly. "I am certain if you have anything else to say about this you will all find me sooner or later. Now, if you will excuse us, Endymion and I have something we must discuss." Tugging on his hand, she smiled when he obligingly rose to his feet and offered her his arm to escort her from the room.

The doors closed behind them and Serenity turned to Endymion, wrapping her arms around his neck. "I am sorry I put you through that. I had thought they would be more tactful."

Endymion hugged her gently, lacing his fingers together at the small of her back. "There is no need to apologize, Angel. If I had to sit through a dozen dinners such as this simply to hear you say you are carrying my child... I would do so gladly."

Serenity lowered her lashes. "You flatter me sir."

"As much as possible, milady," Endymion teased gently. "But you did say we have much to discuss before this celebration."

Serenity took his arm again and laid her head on his shoulder as they walked through the halls towards the garden. They walked in silence, the clicking of Endymion's boots and the whisper of Serenity's gown brushing the floor the only sounds accompanying them.

Pausing at the entrance, Serenity looked up at Endymion worriedly. "Are you going to be alright?" She asked him hesitantly, trying not to seem insensitive to his recent loss.

Endymion placed his free hand over hers and nodded. "I believe I will be. Not yet, not now - but time heals all wounds. It will heal this one, though it will take a long time. I have lost four people who were almost as close to me as you are. My father..." he sighed as she opened the door and tugged him inside. "My father was my hero," he swallowed hard. "More than anything I wanted to make him proud of me. Now I will never know what his thoughts on our union are, or if I still came up short in almost every way."

Serenity listed intently as Endymion finally began to voice his regrets and fears about his father. She's never heard him speak of the King before, though she'd seen into his soul and knew his fears. Better than anyone, she knew how important it was to voice certain fears so they were easier to deal with.

Endymion sat on the edge of the fountain, hardly registering the fragrant smell of the Moon roses, or the deeply powerful scent of the single Earth rose bush in the whole garden. He looked into the fountain and idly poked his reflection with one finger, watching the image ripple away - his image fragmented and incomplete. He met Serenity's gaze in the water as she looked at him, her image wavering.

"Can you understand what I mean when I say I would give almost anything to know what he thought of me, for a chance to talk to him one last time? The last time I saw him and actually spoke with him, was over a year ago."

"I can understand," she said softly. "I would give anything to have one more conversation with my Aunt. Just as I would give anything to have known my father."

He looked at her, seeing her blue eyes full of compassion and understanding. Framing her face in his hands, his gaze roamed over the golden hair that framed her angelic features. "I did not know you did not know your father. I am sorry you did not have the chance."

"Mother has been good to me. From what she has said, he died without knowing I was even going to be born. I cannot mourn a person I did not know, even if he was my father. You, however, did know your father and I will do nothing to demean your grief."

"Sharing helps ease the pain."

She smiled, reaching up to gently brush his ebony bangs off his forehead and out of his eyes. "As it should. Joy shared increases the enjoyment of the event, just as a sorrow shared helps ease the burden. We are one, you and I, and your sorrow is mine, just as your joy is mine."

"I know, Angel, but sometimes you have to deal with grief on your own before you can share it." He took a deep breath and looked away from her towards the distant orb of Earth hanging low in the lunar sky. "I just wish my father had the chance to meet you, is all."

"He will," she assured him gently. "One day when we all go to a better place, he will meet me, and see you again, and he will be proud of you. He has no reason not to, my love."

He met her gaze, framing her face with his hands as he gently caressed her cheeks, looking deep into her clear blue eyes. "How I wish that were so. I regret much that I have done in my life - I find it disgraceful, as did my father. His only son..." he winced, dropping his hands from her face and looking away again. "His only grown son - his _heir _to the throne - and I was considered a disgrace and a failure through so much of my life."

Serenity reached out one hand to gently squeeze his forearm, her hand drifting down to clasp his. "You were lucky to have known your father, Endymion. I am sure that no matter what you did, you were not a disgrace, no matter what your father said. You did what you had to, to bring yourself to me; your past made you what you are today and I love you for it. The fact that you found it disgraceful or a failure in some way degrades who you have become. I love _you_, Endymion. Not what you wish you could be, not who you think you should be, but _you_. The man who helped a lost girl discover the beauty of his world and stole her heart with his caring and compassion."

"How can you say that when you do not know what I have done?"

"Does it matter all that much, my love? I love you. Whatever you have done in the past has made you who you are and I cannot find that regretful. I have done much, and said much, I too regret, but it brought me to you. If I had followed orders and not broken the laws I would never have known you. I never would have taken the one step my mother found disgraceful to the point of dishonor. So you see - whatever you have done, or have had to do to bring you to today... I cannot see it as wrong."

Endymion brushed her face with the backs of his fingers, marveling at her wisdom. Innocent wisdom perhaps, but wisdom none-the-less. "You mean that?"

She nodded, reaching up to clasp his hand with hers, her bandages rough against his palm. "How could I not? You were lucky to have known your Father Endymion. Treasure your memories; I have none of mine."

"Not one?"

"Mother said he never knew I was going to be born. He died while she was still in her first months of pregnancy. But I love my mother and she and I are closer as a result. I regret never having met him, but my mother's influence has made me who I am, and the woman you love. In a way I cannot regret that."

"You, my love, are exceptionally wise for your age," he marveled softly. He drank in the sight of her, smiling as she blushed softly.

"You are sweet, my prince."

"And you are going to make me sick, Princess."

Endymion and Serenity spun away as a familiar taunting voice filled the garden. Endymion slid in front of her in a defensive stance, his gaze narrowing at the woman who was watching them. "Beryl," he growled. His hand went to his sword.

"How nice to see you Endymion," the Lady Beryl said pleasantly. "Though I cannot say the same about your little Princess."

Endymion's hand slid around the pommel of his sword as he looked at her, pulling it partially from the scabbard.

The Lady Beryl stood a few feet from them, dressed in a purple body sheath that revealed her generous amount of cleavage, and her hourglass figure. The hem of the gown hid her feet from view, and her brilliant red hair hung in waves framing her body, and making her look even slimmer than usual. Endymion noted she looked almost translucent, and he could see the outlines of the garden vegetation behind her through her body.

Beryl smiled at him. "I would not try it, Endymion. You see, I am not really here. I can hurt one person in this form, and since I would never do anything to injure you..." she trailed off, looking directly behind Endymion at Serenity.

Endymion drew his sword with one hand and dropped into a fighting stance, his other hand lost in the folds of his cape. He clenched his fist, feeling a rose appear in his hand as Beryl's gaze moved back to him. He could feel Serenity behind him, her hands on the back of his waist. He longed to comfort her as he felt her fear through their bond. "You will have to go through me to get to her, Beryl."

She raised an eyebrow. "Oh really? Mark my words, Prince Endymion, you cannot be at her side all the time and one day when you are not, you will turn around to find her dead."

Endymion threw the rose at the apparition, watching it fly through her with eyes that never left her face. Beryl flinched in reaction as the rose came at her but seemed to relax as it passed through. "I told you that you could not harm me like this, Endymion. Watch your back Princess; you will not be as lucky." Beryl's figure laughed and then exploded in a shower of stars as she disappeared.

Serenity shivered, collapsing back onto the edge of the fountain as Endymion sheathed his sword and turned, taking her in his arms. "Serenity?"

Her hand dropped to her midsection, her fingers fanning out protectively over their unborn child as she raised stricken eyes to meet his. "She would kill me to have you and kill an innocent child in the process."

Endymion wrapped his arms about her, pulling her onto his lap as he sat on the fountain edge, wrapping her protectively in his cape. "She will not get to you, Angel. I swear it."

Meeting gaze squarely, her fear and determination were clear visible, "I will not let her kill me," she said softly. "I will not give her the satisfaction of such an act; and I will not let our child die before they have had a chance to live."

Kissing her gently, Endymion felt Serenity relax instantly, her hands creeping up to wrap around his neck. When he pulled away, he waited until her eyes fluttered open to look at him once more. "She will not harm you." He swore again, fiercely. "I will not let her. Shall we talk in our chambers?"

Serenity nodded and rose to her feet, not protesting when he tucked her under the shelter of his arm. Silently she swore that the Lady Beryl would never be able to make good on her threat.


	7. Chapter 7

_Chapter 7_

Endymion smiled as he watched his wife slip into the gown she'd chosen for the masque ball.

Diaphanous material that could be seen through made up most of the costume, leaving her still flat mid section bare, and offering a teasing view of her legs as she walked. The plain white top cupped her breasts like the hands of a lover and was connected to a skirt that hugged her hips down to mid-thigh before flaring out into a half see-through, half-opaque powder blue skirt. The hem brushed the tops of her feet, not hiding the soft blue slippers she had slipped on, their tips curled slightly back. Her hair was wrapped around her head in a huge braid, and fell down her back to her waist. Gold and silver bracelets adorned her wrists and ankles, and a necklace with a heart shaped locket completed the outfit.

Serenity looked up at him as she finished fastening the last of two buttons between her breasts. Her cheeks were glimmering with star dust, her eyes slanted slightly with black paint. She smiled, her blue eyes sparkling. "Well?"

She held her arms out for his inspection, her shoulders and arms bare but for the glimmering star dust she's applied and turned in place.

"You, my love, look like you are from another world entirely."

"When it comes to the two of us, Endymion, I really am from another world."

Looking him over from head to toe in turn, she smiled at his choice of costume despite its unimaginativeness. He was dressed in his tuxedo with a cape and white mask, hiding his eyes. It suited him.

"You look absolutely dashing, my Prince."

"And you look absolutely enchanting - do you not have a mask?"

"Oh, I almost forgot." Rummaging around in the top drawer of the bedside table she pulled out two strips of the same see-through material, these adorned with jewels and small bells. She slid one over her hair and anchored it on the outside, underneath her hair but above her ears. The second piece she attached to the same place but pulled it over her face, hiding the lower half as the fabric rested on her nose and fell to just below her chin.

Endymion felt like he'd been punched in the gut when she turned to him and stood silently for his inspection. He tried to speak a couple of times before swallowing hard and finally pushed the sounds from his throat, his voice hoarse. "Maybe this is not such a good idea. In that, I will have to fight to stay by your side."

Serenity giggled, and walked over to him, her bracelets and anklets clinking musically. "No you will not - for I will have to fight to keep the most handsome man in the galaxy at my side."

"Enchanting is too weak a word. I will not leave your side this night, Angel."

She slid her hand around the curve of his elbow as he offered his arm. "And I will not leave yours."

Endymion kissed her forehead gently before opening the door and escorting her from the room. They walked down semi-empty halls in silence, making their way towards the main ballroom, their only company the click of Endymion's shoes and the whisper of Serenity's slippers, the chimes of her costume sounding musically. The servant traffic began to pick up as they neared, and Serenity tensed at his side when they finally stopped at the doors.

"We do not have to do this." Endymion's voice was soft as he made a motion to one of the guards to hold the opening of the doors and their announcement.

"Yes we do, we cannot miss our own party. I am alright, honest. I just do not like the thought of facing strangers I barely know and accepting congratulations for our child when we have barely known for a week."

"I do not either, but it will be good for the kingdom and for the morale of the army."

"Open the doors - let us get this over with."

Endymion signaled the guards to announce them and then watched with pride as Serenity smiled a genuine smile and straightened her shoulders. The doors were opened and they stepped inside, pausing at the top of a large staircase. He watched his wife blush as a cheer went up from the guests and waved, not in the least surprised when Serenity did the same. They walked down the stairs slowly, and Serenity made a conscious decision to ignore the speculation and the murmurs as people saw her still slim figure. She smiled and waved, meeting her mother's proud gaze across the room.

Endymion turned to her as they reached the floor and offered her his arm. "May I have this dance, milady?"

"Of course milord," she replied, her eyes sparkling as she took his proffered hand and was led onto the dance floor.

The first few notes of a waltz floated through the air as Endymion grasped one of her hands in his, holding them clasped together on his left shoulder. His other hand slid around her waist and he could feel her relax as she slid her free hand up his right arm to rest on his bicep. He smiled at her as he began to lead her into the melody of the music.

Serenity returned his smile from behind her mask as Endymion pulled her closer than was proper and then sent her spinning out one way with the music. She couldn't hold in a melodic laugh a few minutes later when he spun her one way and then the other, ending with her locked securely in his arms and leading her through an intricate set of footwork. The waltz finally ended and Endymion twirled her slowly into his arms, tipping her back over one arm and placing a gentle kiss on at the base of her throat where her pulse pounded.

They stayed frozen for a couple of moments as the musicians set up their next piece and then left the floor as the strains of the next song began to fill the room. The other guests filled the floor and began to dance to the music as Endymion and Serenity made their way through the crowd.

Endymion found himself watching the surroundings, one eye on Serenity, the other on the people around them, for some sign of Beryl's awful promise. He couldn't help but smile a half smile as his wife played the crowd expertly, answering their questions and deflecting those she didn't feel the need to answer. A surge of pride swept through him as none of her earlier fears were visible and she laughed easily with their guests.

Finally able to lead her to a remote corner, he put his back against the wall and drew her into the safety of his arms. He put his mouth next to her ear so he could be heard clearly over the din of the ball. "How are you holding up?"

"I cannot get Beryl's threat out of my mind," she admitted, her mouth near his ear so that he could hear her without being overheard.

"Me neither. I do not like this setting; someone could get really close to you without too much effort and I feel like we are being watched."

"As do I. I feel it everywhere - except our private chambers,"

"The Lady Beryl not wanting to see what is not for her eyes, how intriguing." Endymion's tone was dry. "Still, I do not like this setting."

"We are here though and we cannot very well leave in the middle of our own party - it would be rude."

"Even if it means saving your life?"

"I will not let her kill me, Endy; do not worry so. This is good for the soldiers and the public. We are safe, they can see us enjoying ourselves and having a good time."

"And putting you and our child at risk. Angel, please, humor me - be careful."

She pulled back to meet his gaze, raising one eyebrow before moving back close to his ear to speak. "I _am _being careful; you will not leave my side this night and no harm will come to me beside you."

"Nor any night that follows. Do you think Beryl may choose to attack tonight?"

"It is possible. Mother said their forces were massing for one large attack. I do not know if our forces will be strong enough to hold them back - but we should be safe this evening. I do not think Beryl has the sense to attack tonight; she will more likely find some way to get into our ball and see if she cannot strike some kind of blow to us here."

"I agree; that is more her style and she has never been one for frontal assaults. At least my mother is safe back on Earth - though the rest of our family is here for the moment."

"Listen to us." Serenity chided suddenly, laughing softly. "We are here to enjoy a party and we are talking about matters of state! Should we not be circulating, no matter the dangers? I get a positive feeling from our guests; this has helped boost their spirits and remind them what we are fighting to protect. If putting myself in danger this evening is one way of lifting their confidence in our cause, is that itself not worth the risk?"

Endymion laughed softly, echoing her, before pulling away. "You are right." He mouthed his response offering her his arm again.

Serenity took it and smiled, gently caressing his sleeve as he led her back towards the dance floor and all of the glittering gems and jewels of their guests.

--

Queen Serenity looked at her daughter as she approached on the arm of her husband and smiled. Her daughter's costume was inventive and daring, just the thing to show the whole kingdom that her latest ordeal had not dulled her sense of fashion or adventure. She held out her hand and grasped her daughter's in her own. "You look lovely, darling," she said loudly, certain that even if Serenity couldn't hear her she would pick up the general sentiment.

The Princess blushed and bowed her head in acknowledgement. Embracing her mother, who had voted not to dress up for the masque, she leaned in close so not to be overheard. "I have a question. Is it improper to ask for a few moments of your time and steal away from our party?"

"Can it not wait until later?"

"I suppose it could - but I would prefer to know now if it is possible."

Queen Serenity nodded her agreement and moved towards the doors that led onto the balcony. She looked over her shoulder to make sure that Endymion and her daughter were following before climbing the slight flight of stairs and walking outside. Endymion escorted his wife up and closed the doors behind them, blocking out most of the noise from the party.

"Now, dear, what was so important that I cannot wait until after the masque?"

The Princess cast a glance at Endymion before meeting her mother's gaze again, her eyes somber. "Why do the royal family of the Moon not fight? I do not think it fair that my friends and my husband risk their lives for me when I cannot do anything to help them."

Queen Serenity smiled sadly. "I expected this question. You have a good heart, my dear, and you cannot help but feel as if this arrangement is unbalanced; I asked my mother the same question. Her response to me was that we cannot put ourselves into harm's way because only the bloodline of the Moon has the ability to wield the power of the Ginzuishou. Even Endymion cannot wield it - only you and I. If we die without an heir, the power will fracture, becoming unstable, and everything in the Silver Millennium will fall apart. I do not think you yet understand that the power of the Ginzuishou is in your blood. It is a part of us, and using its power will more than likely kill us if it comes to that."

"But that does not explain why my friends must defend me. I could learn to use the power inside me in pieces, making it safe and then help my friends fight."

"And taint your pure soul forever." Queen Serenity's eyes were sad. "I do not wish for you to learn to use the powers, Serenity, because they _will_ taint you forever if you need to use them - even in defense of those you love most. I have tried to train you with everything you will need to avoid conflict and keep the peace. If that should fail your guardians and Endymion have enough experience and training to protect you."

"But mother, who will protect them if they are not strong enough to fight this evil? Is it not proper for a Princess to take her place by her guards and lend her strength to their defense?"

The Queen leaned against the balcony railing, shaking her head. "Serenity, you do not understand. How could you? If things go badly, I will wield the power of the Ginzuishou alone. At this stage in your life I do not want you to have to give up your life when there is so much ahead of you."

"Is that not my decision, mother? If Beryl does somehow find the strength to defeat us and amasses an army that destroys everything I know, everything I love, should I not use the power to rid the world of such an evil?"

Gathering her daughter into her arms, the Queen hugged her tightly. "If things go badly, I promise they will not end here. I have enough power and control to save you and your court. It has never been needed before, but if something happens I can save you, my darling; you and your husband and your friends." She placed a gentle kiss on the top of Serenity's head before pulling away. "Do not worry about the defense of the Moon, darling. It is well protected and we will have ample warning should the Lady Beryl attack. Go, enjoy your ball. There will be fighting soon enough and moments like these will soon be a memory."

Endymion gently grasped his wife's arm and escorted her back into the ballroom, leaving the Queen on the balcony, her gaze locked on the Earth. "If I have any power at all," she whispered softly. "I pray they are not taken from each other as you were taken from me, my love." she bowed her head and did not return to the ball for many long, lonely hours.

--

Serenity pulled her mask off with a sigh and tossed the two pieces of fabric on the side table. "I still do not understand. If I have power inside me, how is it that mother will not let me fight? Surely using a fraction of that power is not bad."

Endymion placed his mask next to hers before unhooking his cape and tossing it on the chair by the dressing table as Serenity began removing her jewelry. "Angel, your mother does not want to subject you to the powers she has control of yet. She wants you to enjoy our time together and not worry about protection."

"At the cost of you and my friends? Endymion, you are my life - without you I could not continue!"

He enfolded her in his arms. "I would die for you willingly, Angel - and you are stronger than you give yourself credit for. You would continue to live, if not for yourself than for our child. Your friends and I understand that without you, without your pure heart and unconditional love, we would not have a reason to continue. You give us purpose, a reason to fight. I love you more than life, Serenity and would do anything for you."

"Than do not fight," she begged softly. "Do not put my life above your own. I cannot bear the thought of your death."

"If I can avoid it, I will - but I may not be able too. I promise to do everything in my power to come back to you."

Serenity closed her eyes as his hands began to gently rub her back and she pressed close to him, inhaling his masculine scent; the muskiness of dried roses, a hint of power and dark chololate as she burrowed into his chest. "Hold me," her voice cracked. "Hold me and make love to me tonight, like you never have before."

"Anything for you Angel. Anything at all."

She raised her head, her eyes still closed, tears shimmering on her lashes, and he kissed her gently, treasuring her mouth with his, sending the familiar fires spreading through her veins. She tasted of sunshine and rain, of pure unconditional love and he almost went to his knees. He swept her up in his arms and walked with her towards the bed, laying her down gently on the covers, never breaking their kiss. Never breaking the contact, she helped him remove his jacket and then his shirt, her hands sliding urgently over his skin.

Endymion grasped her wrists and forced them above her head, pinning them firmly - but gently - above her head with one hand.

Serenity's eyes fluttered open as he broke the kiss and trailed soft kisses down the side of her neck, causing her back to arch. She gasped as he sucked gently on the junction of her shoulder and neck. "_Endymion_!"

The exposed wealth of her skin called to him, and he traced whisper soft finger tips over the still-flat plane of her stomach as she writhed under his touch, dipping his fingers under the band of her top.

"_Please..."_

"We have all night, Angel." His promise feathered across her collarbone as he traced it across and back, nipping her tenderly. "And I intend to make this last."

"_Endy-mi-on_!"

He smiled against her skin before he reached up and slammed the shutters closed with his free hand, blocking out any and all intrusions - or prying eyes. Tonight was just for the two of them.


	8. Chapter 8

_Chapter 8_

"Your highness, we have word of a massive army converging on our position here at the Moon Palace." The senshi of Jupiter came to a skidding halt before Queen Serenity, blurting out her news as fast as she could, almost tripping over her words.

"And so it begins. Gather all of the troops, including our reserves, and set up a perimeter around the palace." The Queen looked up as the rest of the young senshi came running into the room and halted before her.

Neptune, Uranus and Saturn came strolling in behind them, stopping near the door to listen.

"I want one senshi, including Uranus and Neptune, at each corner; Saturn - you with stay with me. Venus, you have command of the inner senshi and our forces. The Captain of the guard will report to you, and you will give him his orders."

Venus inclined her head, well used to being in command of the Princess' guard - though it would be the first large scale battle she'd ever coordinated without her mother to assist.

"Uranus, you and Neptune work best as a unit and separate from the rest of our forces. I want you to be guarding the two closest points on our northern wall. Act independently, as best you can, to wipe out as much of the army headed our way. Jupiter - was there any report as to how many soldiers are in this army and who is leading it?"

Jupiter glanced at the door as Endymion and the Princess arrived, and hesitated. "Er... Yes your majesty. I am loathe to admit this, but the four General of Prince Endymion's are leading the army - and all of the soldiers who were not killed or are missing from the Terran ranks are a part it. We are looking at close to two hundred thousand men - not including certain ghostly forces that we have no way to track; the Lady Beryl is in command."

"Are you positive my Generals are part of that force? All of them?"

Jupiter nodded grimly. "I'm sorry your highness, but I have more than my share of Terran guards on the same watch as I and most of them are shocked and outraged that four of the most loyal men in the galaxy are fighting for one such as Beryl."

"She must be controlling them somehow." Endymion said softly, his mind running through the possibilities. "Your Majesty, I ask your permission to try and break whatever spell is on my friends. I cannot, in good conscience, leave them to the mercy of that witch."

"Denied, Endymion." Queen Serenity's denial was sharp. "I can understand your concern - and your pain - in this matter but this is just the opportunity that Beryl is looking for. I cannot allow you to put their lives ahead of the lives on this planet."

"Understood, your majesty. But I had to try."

Her gaze softened on her son-in-law. "I wish I could give you a better answer, Endymion. I understand, more than you know, what it is to lose trusted friends."

Endymion said nothing as the Queen turned back to Jupiter. "Thank you, Jupiter; I have but one last question. What is the estimated time of the army's arrival?"

"Sometime later this evening your highness."

"Then we do not have much time. Saturn, Endymion and Serenity; come with me. Venus, I leave our defense in your capable hands - Uranus and Neptune can help you if you require it."

Queen Serenity strode from the room, Saturn following as a silent shadow, Endymion and the Princess on her heels.

The door closed with a resounding boom and Venus turned to the other senshi, "Alright, this is how we need to work this," she knelt on the floor, fumbling with a few of the tiles before she found the one she was looking for and hit a panel on it. The tile slid away revealing a cache of small weapons.

Venus grasped the hilt of the sword on top. "This sword is the Crescent sword of Venus, when I am holding this I can channel all of your attack through it. Uranus, Neptune - you already have your weapons, and we'll need their powers in the upcoming battle. Jupiter, the staff is yours."

Jupiter leaned down and grasped the staff, hefting the surprisingly light piece of weaponry in her hands. She twirled it experimentally. "The Oak Staff of Jupiter. Mother said it was lost."

"No, just hidden. It has the ability to create a new power for you. Use it wisely, and choose well."

Jupiter nodded solemnly.

"Mercury, you have this," Venus held out a small crossbow. "This is the Wrath of Mercury, your most powerful weapon in the upcoming fight. This will amplify your powers from defense into attack."

Mercury accepted the crossbow gingerly. As a senshi who was mostly defensive - and the healer of the four - she was reluctant to use her powers for attack. But she didn't refuse it - the cost would be too great.

Venus dug down once more. "Mars, the Bow of Mars is yours. With this you can send your attack further from you, and cause greater damage." She handed the bow to Mars.

Mars twirled it experimentally and smiled. Further her attack range? She wasn't about to object!

Closing the panel, Venus left a rod with a crescent shaped head inside before standing up and attaching the sword to her hip. "The last ability of these artifacts is they will allow us to coordinate our attacks. Each of you will be able to hear me, and I will be able to hear you. Keep in contact with me constantly, I will need to know where we will have to send our forces. I don't have to tell you that we are grossly outnumbered and that some of us will not live to see tomorrow." She met each of their gazes steadily, at peace with her fate in the upcoming battle. "I just want to say that it has been my highest honor to serve our Princess with each of you. Good luck."

Venus darted away, subconsciously telling each of the senshi where she wanted them to be posted. Quickly they each spread out to their posts and settled in to wait for the coming attack.

--

"Why did you wish me with you, your majesty?" Saturn asked softly, keeping pace with the Queen. "Could I not be of more use serving on the front lines where my powers would be a great asset?"

Queen Serenity led the way into the very center of the Palace and into the main vault of the royal family before she turned and met Saturn's somber gaze. "I need you with me. If I am attacked while using the powers of the Ginzuishou it will cause a catastrophe and I cannot allow that to happen."

Saturn nodded, twirling her glaive once. "I understand. Thank you for trusting me with this responsibility."

"If not you, Saturn - then who?"

"Is that why you asked the Prince to guard the Princess in their chambers?"

"It is. I do not want my daughter to see me waste away from the power of the crystal."

Saturn turned to the door and took up a guard's position. She waited while the Queen retrieved the crystal and approached the doors. "Come, my young senshi, we will wait in the throne room."

Saturn led the way to the throne room in silence, her glaive at the ready as the Queen's heavy tread followed. Once there, Saturn sealed off the room, all but one entrance, and posted herself in front of the throne to wait for the final battle to begin.

--

"Mother! No!"

Princess Serenity slammed her hand against the solid door of the bedchamber repeatedly, the locked panel unmoving under her onslaught.

Gentle hands wrapped around her bare shoulders but she shrugged them off, banging her hands again. "Mother, _please_, we can find another way!" She screamed, venting her fear. The rage finally worked itself out and she collapsed against the doors sobbing. "Mother, please, do not do this..." she whispered brokenly.

"Serenity, she cannot hear you." Endymion wrapped her in a gentle embrace from behind, cradling her as he spoke the words. He hadn't expected the Queen to lock them in their chambers and he'd been unprepared for the surge of grief and outrage Serenity had poured into her assault on the doors. He gently stroked her hair back from her face. "I am sorry, Angel, but she has made her choice. She wishes for us to live - even if it means sacrificing herself in the process."

Serenity turned in his arms, silent tears streaming down her cheeks. "Her choice is one that condemns all of my friends to death! She does not understand that they are a part of my strength, and when they perish so will a part of me."

Endymion held her tightly. "Can I help in any way?"

She shook her head, curling against him as they sank to the floor with her in his lap. "No one can help now," her words were soft, almost to herself. "Things are beyond anyone's control. We cannot stop it or change it, just accept it."

"Do not speak so, you do not know that."

Meeting his gaze, her eyes were sad and the color of stormy skies. "We are stronger together, you and I, Endymion, and so are my friends and myself stronger together. Divided, they will surely fail." She took in a shuddering breath. "All we can do is now is wait to know the outcome."

"I will protect you." He swore it to her fiercely, laying his forehead against hers and meeting her gaze. "No matter what is yet to come, I will protect you."

"And in doing so I will lose you." Her response was broke as she began to shake. "Hold me for as long as you can."

Leaning in close, she kissed him to forestall any response but felt it in his arms tightening around her protectively. They sat locked together in the large room, pressed against the door, for many long hours as they waited for the battle to begin.


	9. Chapter 9

_Chapter 9_

They came as a wave of darkness that blocked the Earth from view, thousands of soldiers charging across space by the evil powers of the Lady Beryl. Venus saw them first and alerted the rest of the senshi through their linked minds,

_The enemy approaches. Be ready_

She tightened her grip on the sword as the soldiers around her stirred restlessly. The coming army looked more like the wave of a lunar storm, cackling with solar energy that would threaten any living creature caught in its path. Swallowing hard, she could do nothing but watch was the wave came steadily closer. Swords were drawn and soldiers took up their positions for defending this side of the Palace.

Venus looked at the army of two hundred soldiers under her command and closed her eyes for a moment, _Mother Venus, if you are listening, give me the strength of fight this battle with courage and discipline._ She opened her eye and then narrowed them on the coming army, watching it split and go two separate ways.

"Steady men." Her voice rang out as them shifted nervously. Holding up her sword, she let the light of the sun flash off the blade, drawing every eye, including the enemy's. They drew nearer, their focus now on the senshi of Love and Beauty. Venus smiled grimly, pointing her finger at the blade of the sword, letting the light play over the men in her army.

"Ready your blades!"

Two hundred swords rose into the air, their blades angled so that the light striking them was towards the coming hoard. Venus nodded, seeing all was ready and took a deep breath, praying this would work.

"Crescent... _Beam_!"

The golden light sprang from the tip of her finger and hit the blade, reflecting off it towards the elevated blades. She concentrated, biting her lip and drawing blood as the beam refracted and broke into 200 crescent beams hurtling towards the enemy. Many fell with holes in their chests, heads and limbs, more than twice the numbers of enemies falling under the brutal assault. And yet, the army still advanced, their momentum barely even halted.

Venus repeated the trick twice more before a few of the swords the men in her army cracked and shattered under the pure energy assault. With grim determination she dropped into a fighting stance. If they were going to try and get past her, she was going to take as many of them with her as she could. She would make them pay for choosing to attack the Moon Kingdom.

The arrow of evil sliced through the Moon Kingdom's army with hardly a pause, decimating it until it reached the senshi of Venus. Her sword blazed with fury unrivaled and her hair floated about her body like an aura of her rage. She leveled the sword at the coming soldiers and spoke a single word of command, so softly it wasn't audible, and a light shot forth from the sword.

Wielding it in an arc, she swung it from her left to right, and mowed down hundreds of enemy soldiers in a single blow. Many of the front ranks of the army hesitated, only to be pushed forward by the men behind them. Venus swung the sword back, determined to cleave a huge portion of this army to dust even though she was hopelessly outnumbered - when a huge white light suddenly surrounded her.

A cheer went up in the attacking army as the senshi of Venus' scream echoed across their ranks and she disappeared.

Their blades bloodied and their voices raised, they continued on towards the palace.

--

"Minako!" Serenity whispered, biting her lip as she felt a part of herself clench with fear. Endymion tightened his arms around her as new tears pooled in her eyes and slid down her cheeks, attempting to shelter her from the pain. "The army is coming... and we will not be able to stop them."

"It is me she wants, Serenity - perhaps if I left..."

"_No_!" She clutched him tightly, afraid he wouldn't heed her. "That is what she wants. Divided we will fall -do you not see? If you leave it will leave me open to her attacks and in doing so she can kill me - just as she promised - before going after you."

His smile was grim in response and he nodded. "I will not go anywhere, Angel."

--

Jupiter lashed out with one fist and broke the blade of an attacking soldier with her gloved hand, swinging swung her staff the other way and catching several other soldiers as they tried to surround her. She smiled grimly, sweat and blood marring her once white bodysuit.

"Forward men!" Her command echoed over her small detachment of men - even smaller after the skirmish. They fell in behind her as she dispatched the soldier whose sword she'd broken.

She held the staff aloft as the small group of no more than twenty charged valiantly at the coming hoard. Jupiter looked about as she felt the staff quiver in her hands and felt the words to an awesome new power took shape in her mind. Pausing, she lifted the staff above her head and held it in both hands.

"Guardian Jupiter, give me the courage!" She shouted as winds and electricity whipped about her and tore at her uniform and hair. Her eyes flashed and went completely white as she looked at the oncoming hoard, her hair whipping about her face.

"Sparkling... _Wide_... _Pressure_!"

Lightening surged from both end of the staff and plowed into the oncoming army with a destructive force as her men engaged them. The armor plated soldiers of the enemy army fell into one another, passing the deadly surge of electricity along until nearly a quarter of the force arrayed against them lay dead or in their final death throes.

Jupiter collapsed as the awesome powers that had coursed through her body began to take their toll. She never saw her small battalion get slaughtered, nor the evil army's continued approach as her eyes fluttered closed, the staff clenched in her hands as everything was lost in a pure, white light.

--

"Makoto..."

Serenity shuddered, pressing in closer to her husband. Another tear silently fell in the darkness as the army came closer.

--

"Come and get me if you dare, evil scum! I'll burn the skin from your bones; maim you so bad you'll crawl back to mommy and even she won't recognize you!" Mars taunted at the approaching army, winking at the soldiers under her command as if to reassure them as she fingered her bow.

The coming scourge seemed to pause and approach the senshi of fire and her command more hesitantly and Mars couldn't help but smile. Obviously the threat of fire was greater than the desire to win in some of those soldiers. She aimed her bow at the coming army and pulled it back, concentrating.

"Ready!"

She called the command, looking to her side at the one soldier she'd chosen to call the orders for her after that one. Her command was made up of mostly bowmen and they readied their weapons as Mars began concentrating on her powers.

"Aim!" Called the soldier beside the senshi, his sword lifting into the air as the soldiers took aim.

"Fire"

"Fire... _Soul_!"

Mars let loose her power as she let the arrow fly into the midst of the arrows from the men under her command. Her eyes widened in shock as the arrow lit those within its rage on fire and then continued onwards, striking first from all the projectiles. The Martian arrow plowed through more than two dozen soldiers before finding its rest in the ground, the fireball finally expiring.

As the rest of the arrows slammed into the front ranks of the approaching army, the soldier next to Mars raised his sword again.

"Ready!"

Bows were notched again, Mars simply pulling the bow back as another arrow appeared in her hands.

"Aim!"

Mars put her bow at the angle for release as the rest of the bowmen did the same.

"Fire!"

"Fire... _Soul_!"

The fireball sprang from her bow a second time, and this time Mars concentrated on it, making it larger, encompassing all of the arrows and growing larger still. She felt faint as the fireball plowed into the front ranks of the army and put all of her will into it, making it expand, grow hotter, get bigger, do more damage. The smell of roasting flesh wafted over the battlefield almost as tangible as the feel of their fear.

They charged as the fireball finally expired on the ground and slammed into the ranks of bowmen as they tried to loose one more volley. The Lunarian soldiers were slaughtered and Mars, her eyes falling closed heavily, never saw the sword raised and arcing towards her neck as white light exploded behind her eyes.

--

"Rei."

Serenity choked, curling into a tight ball. She buried her face in her knees, trying to block out the feel of death, the coldness that was enveloping her soul.

--

"Bubble... _Spray_!"

White mist shot forth from the hands of the senshi of Mercury, giving the army under her command a brief respite and a chance to regroup and fingered the crossbow at her hip, wondering if she should perhaps use it.

They'd been fighting with hit and run tactics since engaging the enemy, always falling back closer to the position where they would have to make their final stand. She wiped her forehead with the back of her hand, her glove stained with sweat and blood. Her soldiers regrouped and checked their wounded and dead as the fog floated about the battle field caused the enemy to retreat.

_At least they can't see through this_, Mercury thought with a sigh. She flipped her computer open, calculating how many they had killed to those they had lost and smiled grimly. They couldn't win - their numbers were just not big enough.

"Alright, men, assemble up, and listen for your orders." Her voice cut through the fog easily, carrying to each of her hundred or so soldiers that were left. They assembled as near to her as they could so that she wouldn't have to speak too loudly and have the enemy overhear their plans.

"I have within my power a weapon capable of turning this mist which protects us into a weapon," she began cautiously, uncertain how this would go over. "I am hesitant to use it though for it will affect everyone and everything inside it; meaning myself, you, and our enemy. You men will retire to our break point. Defend the entrance of the Palace on this side from all attackers, no matter what the cost. I will set off my offensive strategy alone, at the point, when the most concentrated part of the army is visible and hopefully it will eliminate more than half of their forces. You must hold them as long as you can at the entrance. I cannot stress this enough. You _must _protect the Queen and the Princess; they are our only hope for the future."

The men remained silent, nodding their agreement, knowing that the senshi was probably throwing her life away to make a last ditch effort to protect not only the Palace and the people within - but to also give them a fighting chance. They saluted her as she dismissed them and took up a well protected vantage point to watch the oncoming army.

The soldiers quickly retired towards the Palace entrance they had been given orders to protect.

Mercury took a deep breath, trying to calm her racing heartbeat. _This is it_, she thought softly, hearing in the back of her mind the clamoring of the other three senshi's thoughts. She bit her lip as she felt each of them fall, all of them within a few seconds of each other and tears stung her eyes. _Mercury, give me the courage to die like they did._

Attaching her computer to the small crossbow and activating it, bolts appeared in a small quiver attached to her wrist. She quickly notched one of them feeling the mist she'd created rapidly dispersing on the lunar winds as she made her preparations.

Finally ready, she took another deep breath as the mist dissolved and left the field of battle visible. The attacking army began its cautious approach once again, looking every which way for ambushes. When they found none they sped their pace up, the entrance they'd been told to seize now within sight. Mercury waited until half of the army was within her view and leveled her crossbow above their heads, pulling the trigger.

"Bubble..._Spray..._!"

The bubbles attached to the bolt as it hurtled across the army, trailing freezing particles in its wake. She quickly repeated the process a dozen times, feeling more of her strength ebb with each shot and use of her power until she fired the last bolt. As it arced into the ranks of soldiers, she gave the last command.

"_Freezing_!"

She watched in morbid fascination as her plan went off without a hitch, the bubbles coalescing into a huge icy mist, clogging the lungs and freezing the approaching soldiers in their tracks. More than half of the attacking force was under the icy shroud of death and perished as they fell to the ground frozen, some shattering as they hit.

Mercury smiled grimly, feeling her grasp on the world slipping away. She had done her duty.

"Only for you, Princess."

Brilliant white light engulfed her as she slipped away, a peaceful smile on her lips.

--

"Ami."

Serenity whimpered, feeling cold as the weight of what exactly had occurred settled on her soul. She wiped away the tears that trailed slowly down her cheeks. Now there was only Endymion standing between her and the Lady Beryl's army.

She closed her eyes and clung to him tightly; she knew she would lose him too.


	10. Chapter 10

_Chapter 10_

Queen Serenity watched the senshi of Saturn stand silently, without moving next to the one entrance to the room. Still as a statue, the diminutive senshi's eyes were closed, but the Queen knew not to take that for carelessness as a guard. Sailor Saturn was simply conserving her energy for the time when it would be needed.

Taking a deep breath, she could feel the Ginzuishou pulsating softly in her hands, its energy singing through her veins, just waiting for her to utter any kind of word, or think any kind of thought, to activate.

Two figures backed towards the doors, and she watched Saturn for any kind of movement. The Queen relaxed when the fuku's of the two outer senshi came into view. "What news?"

Neptune turned, her gaze taking in Saturn's position by the door - her glaive raised and ready for action - at a glance as she faced her monarch. "My Queen, the four borders have fallen, Mars, Mercury, Jupiter and Venus are no more. They were able to take out just over half of the attacking army but we cannot hold them ourselves. We cannot win."

Uranus swiped at a cut across her brow, her glove coming away stained with blood, sweat and dust. "Your Majesty, we need to retreat from the Palace. If you stay here, you will surely be captured or killed."

Queen Serenity shook her head even as the senshi from Uranus spoke the words. "I am not leaving."

"Then the sacrifice the inner senshi made was worthless, your highness." Neptune told her. "They died believing their lives would be given in service to you and the Princess, in the hope that you both might survive. If you stay, either of you, then they died in vain."

"They are not dead. The Lady Beryl is too strong and until she is defeated - killed - they can be no further use to us."

Uranus and Neptune shared a look, not understanding, but the Queen didn't elborate. "We saw them die, your majesty. We saw each of them use their weapons and then disappear when they could no long sustain the powers within themselves."

"You are wrong, Neptune. Guard the door with Saturn, please, Uranus." The Boyish senshi immediately moved to comply. "Neptune, I will need your mirror to guide them as to what is - and is not - a mirage."

The outer senshi nodded their faces grim masks of determination as Queen Serenity closed her eyes and held the Ginzuishou up in front of her, her hands extended. Brilliant white light exploded within the room as the power within was released.

--

Endymion listened carefully as the sounds of battle came closer and closer. He held Serenity in his arms, feeling her shake with fear and sorrow as each point of power - each senshi - fell. The sounds of the dying and the wounded echoed through the halls, and he could hear each voice as if it were a knife in his own soul as he wondered if his friends, his Generals, were among them.

"She is coming."

"What?" He looked sharply down at Serenity's pale face. "Who is coming?"

"Beryl is coming, along with Kunzite, Jadeite, Malachite and Zoisite. She has done something to them so that they are acting like her bodyguards."

Endymion's lips thinned into a firm line of outrage. "How do you know?"

Serenity shuddered. "Mother sent me an image inspired by the Ginzuishou. She is using a part of its power, mostly to keep an eye on the battle. If she uses much more..."

Endymion kissed her gently on the forehead. "She has made her choice, Angel. You knew what she would do when she left us in here without a means of escape, save the balcony. She will do what she can to save us, because we are the future. I do not mean to sound callous - but it is the truth. Your mother will willingly give her life so that you and I can have a chance."

Serenity wiped at a tear on her cheek, catching one but missing several more than trailed down her face already drained of all color. "I know. That does not make it any easier knowing that she will not let me help. She will..."

"Hush, Angel." He gently wiped her cheeks with an edge of his cape, wrapping it around them both so that he could shelter her better. "I know it will not be easy to accept the decision your mother has made."

Serenity closed her eyes as his strength enveloped her, bolstering her crumbling resolve and courage. "Thank you."

Endymion held her for long minutes before pulling away reluctantly, and rose to his feet, Serenity in his arms. He let her down carefully, allowing her to slide against him, using him for support, until her own legs would support her.

"How quaint - just the two I was looking for."

Endymion spun, hearing the velvet tone from the doorway to the balcony. "Beryl. So you have come with your forces to oversee your dirty work."

Beryl smiled, leaning against the door way and crossing her arms over her chest. "Of course. I wanted to be here _personally _when the Moon fell to an army of men from Earth. And... I would not give anyone else the honor of striking the final deathblow to your precious Princess."

Endymion slid his hand to the pommel of his sword and narrowed his eyes at her, shielding Serenity with his body. "You will have to go through me first, Beryl."

Beryl raised an eyebrow at him. "Oh, I think not. Kunzite, Zoisite - if you please?"

Endymion straightened - seeing his friends and protectors under Beryl's sway - enter the room behind her, flanking the Lady. They were both dressed in their grey formal uniforms, the last dress he had seen them in before they'd gone to the front lines to do battle.

"Kunzite, Zoisite. What have you done to them?"

"Oh, nothing; they just had to make a choice."

"Nothing you could offer them would make them turn on me." Endymion told her venomously. "What have you done to them?"

"I told you; nothing." Beryl smiled a ferocious smile. "I simply offered them life as they lay dying on the battle field. They took it."

"I do not believe you. My friends are warriors and no warrior wants more than to die gloriously on the field of battle fighting for something they believe in."

"Oh, but they did want something more than death. They wanted to protect you. I simply offered them the chance to do that again, in a roundabout way. You see, Endymion, if you join with me, they will be protecting you again, and you - and all of your friends - will be together again. Of course your Princess would have to be taken as well and held in my sway so that you would cooperate with my wishes."

"Never." Endymion unsheathed his sword. "If I must, I will kill them to get to you and shed no tears. My friends are dead if they work for you. I will not let you harm her."

Beryl shrugged nonchalantly. "Your loss, Endymion. They are still alive, but they have no recollection of you or your kingdom. By the way, send my regards to your dear mother when you see her in the afterlife."

"_No_!" Endymion's scream rang through the room as he lunged for Beryl's retreating figure. Zoisite stepped between them and caught Endymion's sword on his own. Endymion lashed out with a fist, catching his former General in the face and knocking him backwards to hit his head on the wall, putting him out of the fight.

Kunzite swung at Endymion with his blade, but the Prince was not to be stopped. Enraged, Endymion caught the blow and swung back with one barely a half second later. Kunzite couldn't compensate and got the flat of Endymion's blade across the midsection, winding him.

"I will not kill you, Kunzite, for you do not know me for who I really am if Beryl's words are true. She will pay for her crimes against me."

Endymion caught Kunzite in the forehead with his knee and sent the General into unconsciousness. Endymion lunged for the door and raced onto the balcony, sword at the ready. "_Beryl_!" he yelled at the top of his lungs. "I will kill you before this is over; I swear it on my father's grave!"

"On his grave, Endymion?" Beryl's amused voice slid to him from across the balcony as she stepped out of the shadows. "He has no grave and his head is an ornament on my wall."

Endymion slashed at Beryl, catching her in the midsection - only his eyes widened in surprise as his blade passed harmlessly through her and spun him around from the force of it. "Damn you, Beryl, damn you to hell!"

"Oh, I'll be back for you, Prince - once I deal with the Queen. Mark my words, your time is coming. Protect her well, for all the good it will do you; she will fall before the day is through." Beryl's image disappeared.

Endymion looked at it stunned for a second before falling to his knees and letting out an inarticulate scream of rage. _Beryl will pay_, he swore softly, his hand clenching convulsively around the grip of his sword. _I will make her pay._

--

Queen Serenity opened her eyes, her gaze going to the door. "She approaches. Ready, my friends?"

The outer senshi nodded as one, Saturn and Uranus flanking the door with Neptune standing just slightly behind Uranus.

Taking a deep breath, Queen Serenity focused her mind on the Ginzuishou, feeling the untapped powers throbbing through her veins, begging to be released. She narrowed her focus to simply the Ginzuishou, knowing that what she was about to do would take absolute focus and control. Even one slip and everything would be lost.

Noise started to throb through the room as hundreds of soldiers began to pound on the many sealed entrances, those foolish enough to charge the door still open met with Saturn and Uranus' fury as they burst into motion, their bladed weapons slicing through armor as if it wasn't there.

Uranus took point, using her smaller weapon to a greater advantage as she called upon its powers and held the door. Behind her, Saturn's glaive slipped through the flesh and sinew of those soldiers who would slip past Uranus' defense. Somehow, both weapons remained unstained by the blood they drew.

The bodies piled up at Uranus' feet quickly, and she snarled at some of the more hesitant looking soldiers, causing them to flee. Stepping up onto some of the bodies, she found a new stance on higher ground.

"Come and get me if you wish to join your fellows at my feet," she dared those few soldiers who seemed indecisive.

They quickly turned and ran, leaving the door littered with the dead and the three senshi. They quickly cleared the area, their boots seeming impervious to the slick surface as they moved the dead to the sides, leaving the way open for anyone else who would dare try to gain entrance.

"The Lady Beryl will be coming soon." Queen Serenity's voice was strained, her face bleached of all color, the Ginzuishou seeming to be drawing on her very life force for power as it continued to burn even brighter. "Let her through."

"What?!" Three incredulous gazes turned towards their Queen, unsure if they'd heard her correctly.

"Let her through. She will have no power in this room. Only in here, can we possibly defeat her."

"Hardly, Queen Serenity."

Four pairs of eyes shot back to the doorway as the Lady Beryl, looking splendid in the robes of state from the Terran royal family, stepped through. Blood covered the midsection, along with a long slice, showing where the final blow to the Queen Mindaya had been delivered. From the look of pure pleasure that shone in Beryl's eyes, the death had been long, drawn out and exceedingly painful - and the serpent had thrived on it.

"Put that away before you hurt yourself, Queen Serenity."

Queen Serenity met Beryl's gaze squarely. "Afraid of it, Beryl? You should be; you will never be able to use this sacred relic and I am holding in my hands the power for your utter destruction."

"Ah ah ah, Queen Serenity, I know my history. If you use the Ginzuishou you will unleash cataclysmic forces that will not only kill me, but everyone in the palace and on the Moon - not to mention all of the cities in the Silver Millennium that are protected by its power, which is over half of your subjects. I highly doubt you would risk all of their deaths just to get rid of me."

"That is where you are wrong, Beryl." Queen Serenity's lips thinned into a firm line. "If I do not destroy you and your army, you will kill my only hope for the future. Without that, there is no reason for those cities to continue. They know the risks of living where they do, as do all of my subjects here. You underestimate me."

"We shall see how brave your words are when your precious daughter is laying at my feet, a sword above her heart!"

Beryl jerked, thrown backwards as if physically punched, the sound of bone snapping could be heard as her ribs gave way under the attack. Queen Serenity heard an echoing crack in the walls of her palace, its integrity compromised with that possibly lethal use of the Ginzuishou's power.

"That is your free shot, Queen Serenity." Beryl gasped out, putting one hand to her chest and pushing slightly. Her whole body glowed deep red for a moment before she stood up, dusting her hands off. "You see, I have found a power well of my own - I highly doubt you and I can battle without tearing the fabric of space itself apart."

Queen Serenity felt the Ginzuishou's power strengthen as it pulled its powers away from the cities furthest away, causing their atmospheres to crumble and deteriorate quickly, dealing a swift death to the hundreds of people living therein. She flinched as each death weighed on her subconscious, silently wishing those souls peace even as her anger at being forced to do so grew.

Enraged, she turned the Ginzuishou's full power on Beryl, enveloping the other woman in a bust of light.

--

Serenity looked up at the ceiling of her room as the stones suddenly parted and gave way, falling inwards and crashing to the floor near her. With a shriek, she darted for the balcony. "_Endymion_!"

"Serenity! What is happening to the Palace, surely they have not overridden all of the defenses?"

"No, my mother is using the Ginzuishou to fight Beryl; she's trying to destroy her but something is holding the Ginzuishou's power off and its being forced to draw all of its energy away from other uses." She blanched suddenly, one hand covering her mouth in surprised horror. "Selene forgive her. Mother, what have you _done_?"

"What? What has happened?"

Serenity turned anguished eye to meet his. "There are hundreds of cities that rely on the Ginzuishou for their existence, without its power to sustain them they will all crumble - as the palace is starting to do."

"We have to stop them both." He scooped her up in his arms as another stone fell from the roof, landing almost on top of her. "And it is no longer safe here. Hold on tightly."

She slid her arms around his neck. "What about Kunzite and Zoisite?"

"I have no choice but to leave them. I pray they live through this." He bent his knees and jumped from the balcony, landing heavily on the ground and rolling, doing his best to protect Serenity from any harm. They finally stopped and he forced himself to get to his feet, looking for any dangers.

The area was ravaged, trampled, by a marauding hoard, bodies littering the landscape and staining the ground crimson with their blood. He offered her his hand and quickly pulled her to her feet. "We must stop them."

"And you, my love, have a home to avenge and a promise to keep. Do not disappoint me."

He gently kissed the back of her hand, daring to take his gaze off the area for a moment to venture a smile. "Not now, not ever, Angel. Even through a million lifetimes. I would sooner-"

She covered his lips with one finger, cutting off his words. "Do not say it. Live, my prince, live for us and our future; do not die for them."

"I will do what I must to keep you, and our child safe." His voice was grim as he turned away from her, keeping her hand securely locked in one hand, his sword in the other. They ran as swiftly as the terrain permitted, their feet slipping in pools of blood, ankles turning from misplaced steps. Together, they watched as columns and stones fell, destroying even more of the palace.

Serenity's strength began to fade as they continued and she knew then that her mother was pulling on every ouch of power she could get from the Ginzuishou, storing it for one massive strike against Beryl. She sent out a scream in her mind for her mother to stop before the use of the crystal not only destroyed the Queen, but the very lives she was fighting to protect. A feeling low in her belly fluttered and clenched as the baby she carried felt the drain of the crystal's energy.

"Endymion." Serenity slipped finally, going down in a pool of blood that stained her dress crimson and coated her hands. "I cannot go on. Leave me here, save my mother and kill Beryl."

"I will not leave you."

"You must, or else Beryl wins."

He crouched, kneeling next to her and pulled her out of the puddle. "If I leave you, she wins. She has sworn to see you dead, and if that was simply an idle threat to keep me at your side, it has, and will continue to work. I will not leave you." Sheathing his sword, he scooped her into his arms. Despite her weight he ran none the less, continuing on their path towards the throne room where Beryl and Queen Serenity stood at a stalemate.

--

"Silence... _Wall_!"

Saturn threw up her glaive between Queen Serenity and Beryl, blocking both powers from getting through momentarily and throwing both of them back. Queen Serenity was tossed onto the steps leading to her throne and Beryl was thrown back towards the far wall, the energy blast from the disengaged powers hitting everyone in the room with massive effect.

Saturn willed herself to stay upright as she felt each of the bones in her legs begin to break, and give way under the power of the Ginzuishou's undirected energy. It was only for a moment though and Queen Serenity quickly had the Ginzuishou back under control. Saturn maintained her position. "If you continue on this path, Queen Serenity, I will be forced to use the powers entrusted to me to end everything. Do not force me to do that."

Queen Serenity pushed herself slowly to her feet, the Ginzuishou in her hand. She looked much older than she had when the fight started; her face was now drawn, gaunt, and lined with age. Her figure, already slim by any standards, was now skeletal, her ribs showing easily through her gown. "Save yourself, Saturn. This is not your fight."

"Impudent wench!"

Saturn looked back at Beryl as the other woman regained her feet.

"You will pay for that." She pointed her hands at Saturn and the dark energy formed between her palms.

Saturn's lips thinned into a grim line as the energy shot towards her. Bracing herself for the impact and took most of the energy into herself through the silence wall. She knew nothing more as the powers threw her backwards into a brilliant white glow.

--

"_Hotaru_!"

"She has killed another?"

"We must hurry; we must stop her!"

Endymion picked up his pace.

They were close now, if only they could get there before it was too late.

--

Queen Serenity watched as the room about her crumbled, the atmosphere venting into the airlessness of space as the protective energies of the Ginzuishou failed at last. A loud rumbling began under her feet and spread out towards all the four corners of the room. Uranus and Neptune disappeared into the power of the Ginzuishou as stones fell from the ceiling almost on top of them. The palace shuddered and finally gave way, crashing to the ground in slow motion and sending a cloud of moon dust into the air.

"Mother!"

"No! Serenity, stay back!"

"Mother, do you not see what you are doing?"

Beryl spun as Princess Serenity and Prince Endymion became visible through the cloud of dust. She snarled and turned on Queen Serenity. "You see the destructive nature of your precious Ginzuishou now, Queen Serenity? Do you now see why I had to eliminate you?"

"The only destruction that is going to happen this day will be yours Beryl." Endymion swore as he placed Serenity on the ground and drew his sword. He approached cautiously, watching her for the signs of powers he didn't know.

Queen Serenity took the opportunity to fling a beam of energy at Beryl, drawing her attention away from the Prince and making her focus on her defenses.

Behind Beryl, Princess Serenity collapsed to the ground shaking. "Mother," she gasped. "Can you not see that your use of the Ginzuishou is killing me? Please..."

The beam stopped abruptly, the Queen collapsing to the ground at the base of the stairs. "What have I done?" Her voice was soft as she looked about - as if waking from a dream – horror clear in her gaze.

Beryl took the opportunity to advance on her and stopped just out of arm's reach. "What do you think, Queen Serenity? You have done exactly what I made you do, what I wanted you to do. Your reign is at an end, and mine will now begin."

"I do not think so, Beryl." Queen Serenity looked up at her and then smiled, her face drawing into a withered, tired smile. "You will die this day, and my daughter will reign when her time comes."

Laughter – cruel and dark – echoed throughout the throne room as Beryl clapped her hands together to form a staff of dark energy. "Not today, Queen Serenity." She raised the staff above her head and then jerked as Prince Endymion's sword burst through her chest from behind.

"Today, you die." He told her softly as his sword pierced her heart, "You die for all those innocents you have murdered."

Beryl convulsed as the energy staff disappeared, unable to speak. Endymion pushed her to the side - his sword still embedded in her chest - and watched her fall. Blood oozed from her mouth and coated her lips as she breathed her last. Her body shuddered in its death throes and finally lay still.

The Lady Beryl, was dead.

Endymion turned to Queen Serenity and took her hand in his. "What did you mean, rule in her own time?"

Queen Serenity closed her eyes tiredly. "There is enough power stored in the Ginzuishou that I can send everyone still alive on this planet to Earth. But it will be in the future, to be reborn, and you will have no recollection of this place, of each other, or of what has transpired. Serenity is dying, Endymion, and I cannot save her. In my arrogance I have killed my own child! If she dies, so does the very future of your world and mine. I cannot allow that to happen. Bring her to me."

Endymion rose to his feet and quickly went to collect his wife. He picked her up, gently cradling her in his arms. She was light - so _very_ light - and pale as death. Quickly, knowing that time was of the essence, he carried her to her mother and laid her down carefully on the ground.

"She is here."

Queen Serenity lifted her hand with obvious effort. "Put my hand on her, please."

Endymion did as she asked and Queen Serenity's hand convulsed on her daughter's head. "I am sorry, my darling. I did not mean for things to go this way. Look for her, Endymion. If you remember nothing else, remember you are searching for her."

"Through eternity, Queen Serenity - even if I did not know who she was."

"That is how it shall be. Good luck, my children."

Endymion clasped his wife's hand in his as Queen Serenity raised the Ginzuishou and they disappeared in a flash of brilliant light.

--

Queen Serenity opened her eyes tiredly and looked at the glowing Ginzuishou.

"I do not have the power to do much more than send them into the future; I but wish for one thing. I wish for a guardian for my daughter. One who can lead her to be what she was meant to be - and who can guide her back to her Prince. Good luck, my Angel."

She opened her hand and the Ginzuishou blinked once, twice, and then again, picking up speed. Finally, it blinked and vanished. Queen Serenity closed her eyes, a single tear slipping from her eyes, as she laid her head back down.

Now, she could know peace.

--

A dark figure stood by a swirling vortex, a small bundle in her grasp. Everything had taken place as it was supposed to.

Now... red eyes turned to the small bundle and she held it up, light glinting off the face of the handsome male child. Now, the Terran line would be rebuilt, and one day - in the far future - deliver a Prince who would search for his Princess.

And Sailor Pluto smiled.


	11. Epilogue

_Epilogue_

_**Ten years later**_

Red eyes watched carefully as small hands closed about a stylus. Tiny fingers gently gripped the shaft and dipped it with an awkward grace into the ink fountain. A chubby face pinched in concentration, the tip of a pink tongue sticking out one side of a pouting mouth as the ink began to form gracefully slanted letters. The child wrote carefully under the watchful eye of his teacher, the ink sliding over the paper and leaving behind letters that would do the most precise scribe proud.

The child finally sat back, his face relaxing into a brilliant smile, navy blue eyes meeting the gaze of his teacher. "By Damien," he said proudly, sprinkling a dust of sand across the wet ink.

The woman nodded. "Very good, Damien. That is the finished report on the royal family, correct?"

He pointed to a small stack of papers on the corner of his desk. "I wrote three pages just like you asked me too, Aunty Setsuna," he smiled hesitantly. "I hope I got everything."

Setsuna pushed a lock of black-green hair off her shoulder and nodded, taking the report - written in semi-large print - and scanned through it. "A great war covered the earth and destroyed the royal family, killing all but two; a baby prince and his father's sister." She looked up at him and nodded. "It will do. You have free time; I suggest you use it to get ahead on the next history lesson." Motioning to the thick, dusty book was resting on a table, the obliquely gave him his next task.

Damien rose and eagerly went to grab the book before scampering off. Setsuna waited until he was gone before taking the seat he'd just vacated and pulling a fresh stylus from his supply. She carefully read through his report, feeling a slight twinge of conscience. Damien knew next to nothing about his family. His father had died, according to the stories he'd been told, fighting a great war against an evil that had wanted to take over the world.

That much was true, but she felt almost remorseful when his report described his brother avenging his father's death in the Royal palace after the same warrior, the leader of the evil army, slew their mother. Unfortunately his brother died in the ordeal, and though it was a glorious death, it left the infant prince the only heir to the throne.

Setsuna sighed, rubbing her eyes. She'd been posing as the boy's Great Aunt for ten years, a mere breath as far as she was concerned - being the guardian of time - but that breath had been the biggest challenge of her life thus far.

Raising the boy wasn't easy, especially when she had to keep him from the truth about his family's past. Rumors had already started flying about the missing bodies of the boy's brother and wife. Those few who had heard that the Princess was from the Moon had already begun passing the story down to their children - though Damien was told to disregard it as nonsense. Whenever he asked specifics about his brother, Setsuna did her best to tell him the truth, as much as she could, about the noble young man. It wasn't easy living a lie all of her days. Thankfully she could still do her duties as the Guardian of Time - the door itself being barely a step away through a portal.

Her head came up as she fastened her gaze on the report by the young king. It told of a kingdom that was prosperous and fair. Setsuna found herself almost smiling as she read the description of the boy's father. _A proud man of noble birth, standing tall and strong with ebony hair and eyes the color of midnight, the mark of each man in the noble line, he rode off to war sitting tall on his charger. Endymion stood by his mother, sworn to protect the Queen even at the cost of his own life, the spitting image of his father._ Setsuna shook her head.

The boy had a knack for writing she couldn't deny. Thankfully he also had a knack for diplomacy and was already starting to learn from watching her speak in his stead. Soon, on his 15th birthday, he would be crowned and she could fade into the background, and eventually away, and leave the boy to become the King she knew he could be. She sighed - sometimes knowing the future, especially your own role, or lack thereof, in it, was the hardest part of her job.

"Aunty Setsuna?"

She looked up from his final paragraph. "Yes, Damien?"

"I know you said I should start on the new book, but the sun is setting and the moon is starting to rise. Would it be alright with you if I sat on the balcony and watched? For such a desolate, distant planet, it really is quite intriguing."

She waved him away. "It is your free time, Damien, do with it what you wish. Just be careful - it's not like you can land safely from the balcony should you fall."

He flashed a roguish grin, the spitting image of his older brother at that age and shrugged. "I know. Thank you Aunty!" He dashed off, his shoes clicking on the marble floors as Setsuna turned her gaze out the window.

The boy didn't know it, but if he did fall he _could_ catch himself without injury. She was hoping to instill in him the thought that he could not and in doing so, make it a reality. This line had to prosper, Damien knew it, but he never let that get in the way of his fun.

Setsuna put his paper aside and stood, smoothing out the modestly flaring black skirt of her dress. She was still technically in mourning for her 'brother' and black was the appropriate color, seeing as how it was one of the family's main. She absently scooped her hair off her neck and wound it into a tight bun at the back of her head, leaving her elegantly shaped face in full view. A strikingly beautiful woman who possessed a mature, cool air that spoke of experience that drew and repelled most people, she'd learned to live with it.

She left the room, heading towards the very balcony her charge was at, knowing exactly how she would find him. Sitting on the railing, 'endangering' his own life, his feet swinging over 30 feet of nothingness as the sun set and the moon rose. She swept onto the balcony and forced a gasp.

Sure enough, the white shirt was scuffed and ragged, the black slacks torn from his attempts to get onto the balcony's thick rail. His feet - bare now - swung gently over the courtyard 30 feet below him. For all the attention he paid the distance, he could simply drop down without a care. His shoes were in a heap by the base of the rail, kicked there by an over-eager lad wanting to get a better view.

Damien turned to look at her and blushed. "I'm sorry Aunty Setsuna, but I wanted a better view," he brushed his long bangs out of his eyes and shrugged sheepishly. "I know you don't want me to put myself in danger, but the railing told me to sit on it!"

Setsuna crossed her arms over her chest. "Get down right now young man! You're a prince - the king – and not some street urchin who can do as he pleases. Haven't you figured that out yet?"

His expression dropped as her voice lashed across him and he swung his feet back over the safe side of the rail. He dropped down and crouched, reaching for his shoes. "I said I'm sorry Aunty Setsuna."

"If you were sorry, Damien, you wouldn't keep doing it."

"Can I go on the roof then? The rail isn't as high and I can see better."

She crouched in front of him. "Damien, child, you're all I have left. You know as well as I do that the winds up there would tear you off your feet. Be a good lad and stand by the castle wall to watch the sun set, alright?"

He sighed in defeat. "Yes Aunty." He slid his feet into his shoes, not bothering with his socks and obeyed her suggestion, leaning back against the castle wall.

Setsuna made to leave but paused in the doorway when she saw him staring at her. "Yes, Damien?"

He looked away, back to where the sun was settling over the horizon and leaving the area bathed in a brilliant red and orange glow. "Why don't you ever smile?" His question was soft. "I try to please you - I try to be good. Why don't you smile?"

Setsuna looked at him closely. "When you give me a good reason to smile, Damien, you will see me smile."

Damien met her gaze solemnly. "When I am a good King, will you smile?"

Nodding, she reached out in a rare gesture to gently pat his face. "When you make me proud as a King, a fair and just ruler and upholder of the laws, I will smile."

"Good, because when I am King, I'm going to make you proud of me - I swear it!"

Setsuna's gaze went to the sunset. "I'm sure you will, young prince. I'm sure you will."

_Fin_.

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Author's Note: I know, I know. Another story where they die laughs and I apologize in advance – but I won't be writing a happy ending to this one. I will however continue revamping "First meeting" (the inner senshi centric story to accompany "The Joining of Two Nations") and "Family Secrets" – the sequel to this series.

Thank you for reading everyone, you've been a marvelous audience and your reviews are just wonderful too! They certainly make my day :D


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